


Loving You For A Lifetime

by Riku_Luvs_You



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Soriku - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 38,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riku_Luvs_You/pseuds/Riku_Luvs_You
Summary: Soriku/AkuRoku AU Teen RomanceWarning: Contains Sex, Violence, Profanity, Underage Drinking, Mentions of Abuse and Drugs.When rich adolescent boy Sora, moves away from his home in Destiny Islands. He's forced to go to a new school leaving behind his two best friends. He struggles with his identity, is confused about his sexuality, and is tormented by his past. He reconnects with some familiar faces and is skeptical of trusting anyone else. Then there's this boy that comes along, Riku, he attracts the attention of Sora like no other. But will he be able to let his guard down? Is Riku even worth it?This story is originally from my wattpad but wanted to share it with you guys here. I'll update it as often as I can , I just need to feel motivated.
Relationships: Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. I. The Power Of Friendship

~Sora's POV~

"Sora...." A voice said trying to get my attention. 

I heard it calling my name and immediately knew the voice and I ignored it. I turned my head now facing in the opposite direction. I had my eyes closed shut and I didn't want to open them. 

Fuck....5 more minutes...please

"Um Sora... I know you hear me talking to you." The voice of a girl said her tone slightly more serious. 

I ignored her again. I know that was probably a stupid move on my part but I didn't really care.

"Sora!" She groaned.

"Shut up..." I mumbled under my breath.

It was fine. Right? It wasn't like she could hear me anyway.

I couldn't see her but I knew she had to be staring at me in confusion.

"Sora.. come on already...get up! We're gonna be late! I'm not getting in trouble again for you!" She groaned again but louder this time.

I slowly but finally opened my eyes. At first everything looked like one big blur. I could only make out the silhouette of the girl now in front of me. I blinked a few times adjusting my eyes to the light. It was now that I could finally see her and when I did I realized that she was holding up a water bottle aiming it at my head. I tried to stop it but I couldn't react fast enough. It hit me and her aim was dead accurate.

"Ow! That hurt..." I sniffled, reaching behind my head and rubbing it slightly trying to ease the pain a little.

The girl, who called herself Kairi sat smirking. She had short red hair, it was once shoulder length but now it only came up to her neck. It natutrally covered both sides of her face. She had ocean blue eyes and pale skin. And she was cute but I never saw her as anything more than a friend.

"You deserved it!" Kairi scoffed.

"Are you guys ever going to stop fighting like little kids?" Said the boy next to her, his hair was spikey and blonde with brown streaks. His eyes were baby blue. 

I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey Tidus! Should you really be talking?" 

A smirk began to form on my lips. 

Kairi and I turned to look at each other and then back at the blonde simultaneously sharing a laugh.

"Yeah Tidus, you say we're acting like little kids but don't you still sleep with those stuffed animals you had when you were 6?" Kairi teased.

"Shut up Kairi!" Tidus groaned as his cheeks began to turn a soft pink.

"C'mon, we gotta get to class." He said in a hurry.

"Since when are you ever in a rush to get to class?" Kairi said whilst unbuckling her seatbelt.

She reached down and grabbed her backpack that was laying on the floor. She slung it over her shoulder and opened the car door and got out. She walked around to the back where I was sitting and opened the door to let me out. I got out and started to stretch out my sore limbs while I yawned loudly. Then I bent down to grab my backpack from the backseat. I slid it on and shut the door behind me. Then I followed behind my two bestfriends. I took one hard look behind me staring at Tidus's car. His red ford mustang convertible. His parents bought it for him on his birthday, he's been calling it his "baby" ever since. It's a nice car and all but the only thing I hated about it was that the lock to the back door was broken. You couldn't even open it from the inside. And I always thought it was funny how I was always the one that got stuck riding in the back. I always had to wait for someone to let me out. I remember there were even times when my bestfriends would leave me, forgetting that I was still locked in the car. They would always laugh at me and sometimes threaten to leave me there. They were a pain the ass but sometimes they weren't. They were idiots but they were my bestfriends. And as much as I loved to mess with them I hated it when anyone else tried to. 

By the way, don't be fooled. I may seem like I have my shit together but I don't. I'm usually a shy awkward mess. I usually just stay to myself when I'm not around my friends. Everyone expects me to be outgoing but truthfully, I'm far from it. I'm rich and popular so everyone just tries to assume my life. They only ever see the one side of me, the one that isn't real. They see the way I am at school and most of the time I'm only chatty because I'm around my friends. I've known them like my whole entire life so that's why. When I'm by myself, I swear you wouldn't recognize me as the same person. Honestly I'm really afraid I'll lose them one day. I feel like if I did, I'd be lost.... or atleast the version of me that I tried to be. I don't want to go back to being this shy and awkward boy all the time. I really am a loser. If people knew the real me, what would they really think of me? Everyone thinks I'm something I'm not. People come up to me everyday. It's mostly girls though. So many girls in our grade have tried to flirt with me, they flirt with Tidus too. But we don't really care. I don't even really think I'm all that into girls. I've never felt anything towards them. But then again I've never been attracted to anyone before. I've never even been in a relationship before. I've never kissed anyone or done anything more than kiss. I highly doubt that'll ever change. Wow, why do I think so much? I hate it when I do that. It's one of my worst qualities.

Just then I heard a loud ringing noise, it was the sound of the bell. 

Shit, I've got to get to class.

~

Sora hurried to class. He doesn't have any classes with Kairi or Tidus. That was because they had normal classes while Sora took AP classes, which are harder than normal classes. But he does see them out in the hallways and in between classes and during lunch. He also has a few other friends too Selphie, Wakka, Cloud, Zack, and Leon. All of them sat together at lunch everyday. This was Sora's little group. He didn't need anyone else.

-time skip to before lunch-

Sora was in his english class and was waiting for the bell to ring. He was really happy it was almost time for lunch. His stomach had been growling all class period. He had forgotten to eat this morning and was finally paying the price for it. He got a few stares from people and some laughed at him. He tried to hide his face with his books. There were two girls who sat behind him and they were staring at him really hard. They thought he was really cute and couldn't keep their eyes off the small boy. It made him really uncomfortable. Sora was way too shy for his own good. He never once even looked their way or confronted any of the girls that would stare at him. It always made him super nervous. He was used to getting stares all the time. Almost everyone thought he was attractive. He was a small boy, with soft spikey brown hair that was gravity defying, he had celestial blue eyes, warm rosey cheeks, and pale white skin. He had the most stunning features. It was both a blessing and a curse. Sora stared at the clock waiting for the bell to hurry up and ring.

"Come on hurry up!" He mumbled. 

When it finally rung he hopped up from his seat and quickly ran for the door. 

"Phew!" He sighed.

He walked to the cafeteria eager to finally eat something after starving himself. He grabbed lunch and sat at his lunch table with all of his friends. Sora proceeded to shove a sliced meat sandwich in his mouth and he started chewing. Kairi giggled at how Sora ate his sandwich. She didn't like him in that way but she couldn't deny the fact that he was still adorable. 

"Hungry Sora?" She said giggling.

Sora's face reddened.

"U-uh y-yeah... " he stuttered.

"Relax, I'm only just messing with you." Kairi laughed, yanking his arm playfully causing him to drop his sandwich onto his tray.

"Y-you're so mean to m-me...!" Sora stuttered angrily, picking up his sandwich and using it to cover his blushy face.

"Kairi, let the boy eat his lunch. You know how easily Sora gets flustered." Leon said putting a french fry to his mouth.

"Okay fine I'll stop it." Kairi answered, taking a french fry off of Leon's plate.

He lifted his arm to take it back but soon pulled away placing his arm back down on the table. He let her have it.

"Here Sora." Kairi said.

Sora moved his food away from his face and looked up at his annoying bestfriend with a look of curiousity.

She held the french fry in front of Sora's lips. 

Sora pushed it away from his lips, his face was still as red as it was before.

"N-no.. th-thank you." He struggled to say while looking off in another direction.

Tidus snatched the french fry from out of Kairi's hand.

"Thanks!" He said placing it between his lips. 

Kairi shook her head and laughed 

The others laughed at the two, while Sora was still looking away.

-time skip to after school-

Sora stopped by his locker to grab some of his things. For a minute he stood there unsure of what he needed so he grabbed everything and he shut his locker. He walked out of school with everything stuffed deep into his backpack. He walked to the parking lot where his bestfriends were waiting for him.

The sky began to fade from bright blue to a darker shade of grey. Was it about to rain? Sora sighed realizing he hadn't grabbed an umbrella before he left his house this morning. He shrugged his shoulders knowing it couldn't be helped. He walked up to Tidus's car and opened the door. He threw his backpack onto the seat and sat down. He slammed the door shut. 

"Hey guys." Sora said.

"Hey! Took you long enough." Kairi responded, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't take that long!"

"Play nice you two!" Tidus ordered them.

"Make me!" Kairi hissed.

"What do you mean make you!?

"Hmm... you wont? Guess you're too chicken!" She teased.

"Cut it out, Kairi." Tidus said biting his lip in frustration.

"Nope."

Sora laughed, watching the two bickering back and forth.

He turned his attention to the window. It was raining. Sora just watched as it came down in tear sized droplets. He crossed his right leg over his left and was deep in thought.

Tidus spied on Sora through his mirror. He knew what was on Sora's mind. Kairi did too. The same thing had been on their minds for a couple of weeks now. Sora pouted and leaned forward in his seat. He cupped his face gently in his own hands and stared down at the floor in silence. He was completely silent the rest of the ride home. Actually no one said anything until Tidus came up on Sora's house. He parked his car along the side of the road.

"We're here." Tidus said, a look of disappointment on his face.

Sora sprung up in his seat and raised his head taking a look out the window.

"Mhm..." he said, smiling a fake smile. 

He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Kairi and Tidus stepped out of the car. Kairi let him out of the back seat. He looked down at the ground balling up his fists and wanting to cry. You probably couldn't tell if he was since the rain was starting to come down harder than before.

"Sora, you okay?" Kairi said, knowing already that he wasn't. 

"I'm fi-" Kairi stopped him before he could finish, she held out her arms for Sora to hug her.

Sora hugged her and Tidus joined in.

"It's okay if you're not...This fucking sucks..." Kairi said, holding back her tears.

"Do you really have to move away?" Tidus asked, he wanted to cry too.

"I do... I'm sorry." Sora said, unable to stop the tears from flowing.

He hated that his parents were making him move away and change schools. He resented them for that along with a lot of other things. He just wanted to be a normal kid, with normal friends, with a normal family. But his life was far from normal and he himself was far from normal. Nobody could understand. Not even his own parents understood what he was going through. It's not like they ever listened to him. Kairi, Tidus, Selphie, Wakka, Cloud, Zack, and Leon were the only real "friends" Sora had and he knew that now he would have nothing. He hated that he had to go to a different school. How would they treat him? Would anyone even be his friend? Would he even be able to make any friends once they were able to see how weird he is?

Kairi and Tidus did their best to comfort Sora hoping that they had helped atleast a little.

"Sora, it will all be okay."

"We'll always be bestfriends. Don't worry. You can tell us all about your new life and new school." Kairi said forcing a smile.

"Tidus and I promise to come visit you this summer." She ruffled his spikey brown hair. 

"That's a promise." Tidus added.

Sora smiled, wiping the tears away from his now puffy red eyes. 

"Thanks, I'm really going to miss you two."

"Just promise me you won't get into any more fights Tidus." Tidus nodded his head at Sora.

"And Kairi go easy on him!" Kairi laughed as a response but nodded her head also.

"Sora... be strong for me." Tidus said.

Sora nodded and hugged his friends one last time before going home.


	2. II. New Beginnings

Sora went into his house. He took his shoes off and set them neatly by the front door. He said "hi" to his mom before he ran upstairs to his room. He pounced down onto his bed landing on his stomach. His bed was covered with plushies and stuffed animals. He collected them. It was sorta childish but it never seemed to bother him. He pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket and unlocked it. His wallpaper was of a star shaped fruit called a papou fruit. He wanted to try one but you're supposed to share it with someone you want to be with forever. Sora hadn't found that special somebody yet. He doubted he ever would. He opened his app drawer and scrolled down the long list finally finding the one he was looking for. He opened up his youtube app and watched some funny cat videos. He watched them all the time but they were still funny to him. He couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. He rolled over to his side crying of laughter. He held onto his sides when they started to hurt from him laughing so much. He opened up the group chat that he created for him and his friends and sent them the videos hoping they might get a few laughs out of it. Sora heard a knock on his door suddenly, at first it startled him then he got up from his bed frowning. He walked over to the door and opened it to find his mom standing on the other side.

"Sora, can we talk?" She asked, walking in and taking a seat on his bed.

"About what?" He asked, sitting down at his desk.

She hesitated to tell him knowing he would be crushed when she did.

"You remember when your father told you we are moving next week?"

"Yes...." Sora said, his eyes widened.

"Well...I'm sorry sweetie but we have to leave sooner than that." She said as she waited for his reaction.

"...Um How soon?" Sora asked, although he didn't want to know.

"Saturday...in the morning."

"O-oh... but that's in two days." Sora pouted.

"Yes, I know. So you won't be going to school tomorrow. You have to stay here and pack your stuff and you have to help your father with the moving truck."

She knew Sora wasn't ready to leave his home in Destiny Islands. He grew up in this town. Maybe not in this part of town, but he gotten used to his life, his friends, his popularity, himself. He had finally accepted himself. He had to leave everything he's ever known and start again. She knew how scary that was for him.

"Okay..." Sora huffed.

"I'm really sorry sweetie. Please get some rest tonight." She got up, ruffled his hair and left the room closing the door behind her.

Sora was speechless. He didn't know why they were in such a hurry to leave. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to all his friends but honestly he was expecting this sort of thing to happen. He already had a feeling he wouldn't be coming back. That's why he had already cleaned out his locker. Sora was hurt. The news hit him like a brick. He immediately picked up his phone and started texting the group chat.

S: Guys......

K: Sora? Everything ok?

S: No.........

K: What's wrong?

T: Hey Sora is everything ok? You're making me worried!

S: So... my mom told me we are moving on Saturday....

K: WHAT? BUT THATS IN 2 DAYS

S: I know......

T: What? Are u serious?

S: Yeah....

K: ...........

T: Wow...

K: Sora I'm sorry......

S: But I don't want to go..... ):

K: I know... I wish I could help ):

S: ):

T: ):

S: Ugh....

T: We are always here for you. You can always talk to us whenever you leave.

K: What Tidus Said!

S: I know but it wont be the same...

T: Yeah... but don't forget our promise

K: Right! We'll visit you.

S: Really? ):

K: Of course! We'll miss u too dummy! Stop putting sad faces.

T: Sora of course we will. You're our best friend!

S: I know I'm just dumb

T: No

K:No u aren't be a good boy Sorf

K: Sord

K: Sora!

S: Lmao

K: Anyways be good or I'll...

K: Beat

K: Tidus's

K: Ass XD

S: XDDDDDD

T: You'll WHAAAAT!!!??

K: Uhh nothing...

S: Lol

K: but seriously be good

S: I will.

K: You promise? <3

S: I promise <3

T: <__<

K: Shut up tidus. Not everything's about you

T: WHAAAAT?

T: KAIRI SHUT THE FUCK UP!

K: You shut up dummy

S: Lol guys I'm going to go to bed. I need to get some sleep

K: Gn sora

T: Night sora (: Kairi shut up (:

S: Goodnight guys (: I'll text you as soon as I get settled in our house and after school and everything

T: k. good luck

K: Best of luck sora and make me already chicken (:

Sora laughed at his idiot friends and turned off his phone. He put his phone on the charger and left it on his nightstand. He changed out of his school clothes and into his pajamas. He got back into bed and covered himself with blankets. He laid his head against his pillow and closed his eyes slowly drifting off to sleep.

-time skip to the next morning-

Sora rolled over and slowly opened his eyes to a bright light radiating from his bedroom window. He blinked a few times adjusting his eyes to the light. He sat up in his bed stretching out his arms and yawned. Despite how lousy he felt he managed to get a good nights sleep. He moved the covers aside and stepped out of bed. He heard his parents fumbling around in the room next to his. It sounded like they were already packing things up.

"Better go help them." Sora whispered. 

He changed out of pajamas and into a black and white t-shirt, some grey skinny jeans with small holes, and some black and white converse. He went to go help his parents.

It took all day but everything was finally packed up and in the moving truck. Now all they had to do was move everything to their new house and unpack. Sora didn't know much about the new house or about the school they had him changed too. But he was supposed to start going on Monday. He was nervous. He didn't know what to expect from his new school. He hoped he would make friends but he doubted it. He was such an awkward person. He knew how much of a loser he was. Who would be friends with him? He didn't expect anyone to want to be his friend.

Sora got in his dad's car and fell asleep in the backseat. He didn't bother to wake up until they got there. 2 hours went by until they finally got to the house. Sora was passed out in the backseat. He eventually woke up when he heard one of the car doors slam shut. 

"A-rre we here?" Sora said looking around and blinking his eyes.

He didn't recognize this place at all. 

"Wow it looks really different here." He said removing his seatbelt. 

He opened the car door and hopped out. He walked up to the gates that had already been opened. He looked at the tall building in front of him. It was not a house but a mansion and it was beautiful. 

"Wooooooooow!" Sora said glaring at the mansion. 

He followed the brick path leading passed the gate doors. Tall trees, bushes, and many flowers had surrounded the mansion and in the center was a huge fountain. He eyes widened as he stared at his reflection that eminated from the fountain. He couldn't believe how beautiful this place was and that this was his new home. The Destiny Islands didn't have tall buildings or mansions. It was small island with small huts and houses made of wood and stone. He walked up to the mansion doors and opened them. He took a look inside. He explored every room, every hallway, every single nook and cranny. He met up with his parents who were in the grand hall.

"I love it!" He exclaimed. 

"Sora, did you pick out your room yet?" His mom asked. 

"My room? Wait did you guys already decide on yours?" 

"No... we wanted to let you pick out your room first!" 

"No way!!!!" Sora shouted with excitement. Then he soon disappeared. He was very excited that he got to pick out his room. He carefully examined the mansion again. There were a lot of rooms that could be made into a bedroom for Sora. This made it even harder to choose just one. But Sora was going to pick the room that stood out to him the most. After looking through rooms for about an hour Sora finally knew what room he wanted.

"Mom! Dad! This one! I want this one!" Sora shouted.

"It's yours sweetie!" His mom exclaimed.

Sora was so happy. He was in love with his new house and his new room. They were perfect. He couldn't wait to tell his friends about it. But that would have to wait until later. He had a lot of unpacking to do first.

Sora helped moved the important things first. And helped his mom and dad with unpacking. It took him the rest of the day and Sunday too. When he was finished he finally went on to finish decorating his own room.

He wanted it to look somewhat like his old room on the Destiny Islands but bigger and better.

Sora still had all of his toys, collectibles, ornaments, posters, and plushies to put in his room. He finished doing that and was beat from all the work he had to do. But now it was finally over with and their house looked amazing. They had spent the whole weekend unpacking and decorating the entire house. They also had some help from Sora's uncle. Sora went to go lay on his bed and was about to pass out but he got a text from the group chat. Sora took out his phone and read the message.

K: Sora? You guys moved in yet? I miss you

Sora started to type a response.

S: We just finished everything. This house is beautiful!!!!!

Sora stared up at the ceiling waiting for Kairi's response. His phone vibrated and he looked at it.

K: I wanna see it. 

Sora stared at the text rereading it again until he finally realized he didn't take any pictures.

S: Oh crap! Forgot about pictures. Maybe tomorrow. I'm exhausted!

K: Awh okay dont forget! Hey dont you start school tmrw?

S: Yeah

K: Nervous?

S: A little.

K: Dont be! You're great Sora. Anyone can see that! :)

S: Thanks Kairi!

K: Anytime. 

S: Hey where's Tidus?

K: At work. He got a job and works with his dad now.

S: Oh cool. Tell him I said hi

K: I will. You go to bed sora. I know you're sleepy and you got school tomorrow

S: So do you Haha gn 

K: Gn!

Sora put his phone on the charger and shut it off. He didnt know what was in store for him tomorrow at school but he was too tired to care about it right now. Hopefully his day would go a little better than he thought. He undressed leaving on just his t- shirt and boxers and got back into bed. He rested his head against his pillow, covered up with his blankets, and he held his chirithy plushie in his arms. He shut his eyes and finally fell asleep.


	3. III. The First Day

-the next morning-

Sora woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He would rather keep sleeping but he didn't want to be late for his first day at a new school. He got up covering his eyes from the bright light. He rubbed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as he stood up. His room was pretty big and spacious, it had a walk in closet, and even had it's own bathroom. Sora went into the bathroom and took off his clothes. He turned on the shower and the hot water and let it run. He checked it every now and then to make sure it was to his liking . When it finally was he stepped inside . He rubbed soap all over his bare body and scrubbed it then shampooed his hair. He rinsed everything out and watched the dirt and water fall into the drain.

Once he was all clean he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel. He was dry but his hair was still wet. Sora wrapped the towel around his waist and tied it tightly in place then he walked back into his room. He went to his closet and grabbed his school uniform that his mom left for him. A white shirt with short sleeves, a blue tartan tie, with matching trousers, and a pair of brown uwabaki's. Sora put on his boxers first, then his uniform, navy socks, and the shoes. He glanced at himself in the mirror while spiking up his hair which seemed to be completely natural. He let out a small sigh. 

Okay I'm ready I guess. 

He grabbed some notebooks, folders, paper, pencils, pens, erasers, etc and stuffed them into his backpack. He grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket and slid the backpack on. He grabbed some money for lunch and some extra just in case.

He ran downstairs and saw his mom standing in the kitchen. 

"You're not having breakfast?" She asked.

Sora ran to the kitchen grabbing a slice of toast.

"Seeya!" He said sticking the toast in his mouth. 

"Have a good day sweetie!" She yelled.

Sora hurried out the door while taking small bites out of his toast. He waited by the bus stop. The bus came after a few minutes and Sora got on it. He was starting to feel nervous. He had really bad anxiety but he tried to shake it off and carry on like normal. 

It's going to be okay. I got this. 

He thought to himself trying to calm down. He let out a small sigh. He walked passed some other teens. He sat in an empty seat in the middle row and scootted over so he could sit by the window. He turned around looking out the window hiding his face from view. For now it was better not to make eye contact with anyone. He sat in silence for a few minutes. The bus still had a couple stops to make before getting to school. After picking more passengers they finally arrived at school. Sora sighed in relief that no one sat next to him. He stood up and got off the bus. He stared up at his new school. It looked so much bigger than his old one and it was much nicer too. He felt stiff as a board. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't know anyone. The only two people he knew that were going to be there were his cousins, Roxas and Xion, but he didn't even know them. He hasn't seen them since they were little. Who knew if they even remembered who he was. He heard from his dad that his cousins went to school here and that they would look after him. But Sora didn't know how true that was. He started to make his way inside the building in front of him.

Once Sora was inside he noticed there was a group of teens hanging out by the entrance talking. He walked by them not giving them a second glance and looked around trying to find the principal's office. He looked like he was completely lost. He seemed to attract the gaze of one teen from the group. Their gaze followed the spiky haired boy looking at him a bit confused. They slowly walked up to him tapping him on the shoulder from behind 

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Sora jumped, he didn't even realize that someone was behind him. He turned around and his eyes met the stranger's. It was another boy who was taller and slightly more muscular than Sora. He had long sliver hair with dark streaks. His hair was spiked up in the back. His bangs almost covered his eyes which were cyan blue with tints of green which made them look a sea foam green color. His eyes were a pretty unique color and it was a mystery how he got them. No one in his family had green colored eyes. Sora stared at the taller boy, he thought that he was extremely attractive but he didn't want to stare at him for too long.

"N-nothing" Sora murmured before looking away nervously.

He didn't want to make himself look weird in front of him.

The silverette glared over at Sora staring awfully hard at him. Sora could feel his stare burning a hole through the back of his head, it made him even more nervous. He wanted to say something but he was too shy. He also didn't know what to say.

"Don't think I've ever seen you before? You new?" The silver haired boy asked looking Sora up and down.

Why is he staring at me like that? 

Sora thought to himself his face was turning a bright red.

"Y-yeah why." Sora said looking down trying to avoid him and hiding his face from view. 

"You! You must be Sora!" A voice called out.

It came from behind them. Sora and the silver haired boy turned their attention to a woman who was walking towards them. 

"Hello, you're Sora Akimoto, right? Call me Aqua. I'm the school principal." Aqua said smiling.

She was quite the looker. She had blue hair and blue eyes and she had a cute smile.

"Y-yeah I'm Sora." Sora said bashfully.

"Good! I've been looking for you. Come with me to my office so I can tell you what your classes are." She said walking to her office. 

The brunette followed behind her. The silverette walked back over to his friends.

"I see, Sora...Akimoto...?" He mumbled to himself so no one heard. 

Apparently he had heard of this Sora boy already. He recalled his bestfriend, Roxas, talking about him a couple of weeks ago. Roxas told him that Sora is his cousin and that he was supposed to transfer to their school. He was a rich boy who lived on the Destiny Islands. His dad, who was Roxas's uncle, apparently got promoted but he had to relocate so that meant they had to move here, to Twilight Town.

~Sora's POV~

I followed the principal to her office. She sat down at her desk. 

"Sit" she said pointing at the chair across from her.

I sat down in the empty chair next to me. I felt a slight sense of relief. I didn't really want to be around anyone right now especially that boy. I still didn't even know his name. He made me feel really uncomfortable. I was used to getting stares all the time from girls but never guys. Could he be gay? The thought made me blush a bit. Could I be gay?

"Let's take a look at what classes you'll be taking." Aqua said interrupting my thoughts. 

She looked closely at my schedule skimming it over. I sat there patiently waiting.

"Amazing, you have all AP classes!" She said and smiled slightly.

"I'm going to have someone show you where your classes are and he will show you around today. If you have any questions ask him or you can stop by my office." She said handing a paper to me.

She opened the door and raised her hand to get someone's attention. 

Great, now I have deal with someone else today.

I was trying really hard to avoid people but I guess that wasn't possible. In came a boy with spikey blonde hair and celestial blue eyes. He looked sort of familiar. Did I know him?

"Sora Akimoto!" He shouted, even though I was sitting right in front of him.

I thought for a minute trying to remember who he was and then it came to me.

"Roxas Shimomoto???"

"Hey! Long time!" Roxas exclaimed.

Honestly I was shocked he remembered me.

"Roxas, show Sora around and help him find his classes okay?" Aqua said returning to her seat. 

Roxas nodded and turned to leave. I left with him. So he's the one I have to follow around? I didn't mind that. Even though I hadn't seen him in a really long time atleast he wasn't a complete stranger. We walked down the hallway walking past other students and classrooms. He turned to me.

"Before we get going, I want to introduce you to my friends first." He said.

"F-friends??" I asked trembling at the thought of meeting them.

"Yeah. Don't worry, they're cool." He said grabbing me by the wrist.

He was probably right but what if they thought I was weird? I was weird so they would probably think so too.

Roxas pulled me by my wrist and dragged me over to a group of students. I recognized them. It was the same group of students I saw when I first walked in.  
I took glances at all of them starting with a boy who had long spikey red hair. He was so tall. His eyes were an emerald green color.

"This is Axel Kawasaki, my boyfriend." Roxas said pointing to the red head.

"Hello Axel." I said trying to be nice but inside I was nervous wreck.

"Hi... uh."

"Sora Akimoto!" I said giving him my name.

"Hi Sora." Axel continued.

Roxas then pointed to the girl next to him. She had short black hair and the same blue eyes. She looked sort of like Roxas. This must be Xion I thought.

"Hi Sora, I'm Xion Shimomoto. You probably don't remember me? I'm Roxas's sister." She said.

"I remember you. You're my cousin too. " I said smiling.

"Really, that's great then." She seemed happy and she was really nice.

Roxas pointed to someone next to her. A blue haired boy. His eyes were golden yellow.

"This is Saix Hashimura." He said.

Saix and I exchanged a small wave.  
Then I looked to the person on the right of him. It was him. The silver haired boy. How did I not notice him until now. I wanted to put my hands over my face but I tried to act normal. I felt my face getting red. 

Shit! Why am I blushing.

"Finally this is Riku Fujishima."

Riku Fujishima...pretty name

I looked at Riku and he looked at me staring hard again. My face was slowly getting more red. I never felt more embarassed than I did right now.

"We've met already." Riku said slightly grinning.

"Oh, really why didn't you tell me he was here." Roxas asked him.

"Because I don't have to tell you shit." Riku said but he was still staring at me.

I felt stiff. I wanted to run away but they would know something was up if I suddenly did that.

"Alright, let's go Sora. You can see them again later." Roxas said pushing me away from the others.

"Hey stop that! I can walk myself!" I yelled.

He laughed at me and slapped my arm. I rolled my eyes and walked with him to first period. I glanced down at the paper I forgot I was holding. AP English. That was what I had first period. Roxas walked me to where it was.

"This is AP English class. I can't go with you but you'll be fine. We'll meet here after class." He said walking away.


	4. IV. Feelings

~ Sora's POV ~

I watched Roxas walk off. I'm on my own for right now. I slowly walked inside my class. People were already in the classroom sitting at their desks. Some of them looked at me funny. I didn't like this. This is so awkward I thought walking up to my new english teacher. He looked at me. I handed the paper to him. He looked it over and then handed it back to me. I watched him get up from his desk and walk to the center of the classroom. 

"Good morning everyone. It looks like we have a new student." He said.

All my classmates turned their attention to me. I feel so humiliated. 

Please don't make me introduce myself. 

It was as if he read my mind.

"Introduce yourself to the class please." 

My heart skipped a beat. I took a deep breath and tried to talk calmy.

"My name is... Sora Akimoto. I just moved here... from the Destiny Islands." I said trying really hard not to stutter my words. 

My heart was racing.

"Great. Have a seat at that desk next to Riku." 

Riku?? Did he really just say Riku? He's in this class? My stomach felt like it was in a knot. I had to deal with Riku being in my class.

"Riku please raise your hand." Said my english teacher. 

Riku raised his hand. I walked over to him and sat in the empty desk beside him. I tried not to make eye contact. My english teacher started talking but I wasn't really paying attention to anything he was saying. I couldn't really focus. How could I? There was this ridiculously hot boy sitting next to me. I quickly glanced over at him and he was staring at me. 

What the fuck! Why does he keep on staring at me.

I looked away grabbing a hold of my english book and I held it in front of my face trying to hide myself from view. My cheeks turned red, I couldn't stop blushing. I was trying really hard not to. But...It really was hard. Riku was so cute. He was also a little intimidating but still really cute. I wondered if he liked boys and if I had a chance. I didn't tell anyone that I might like boys. Not even my two bestfriends. I was never sure about my sexuality. If I was straight, bisexual, homosexual, etc? I've never really had a physical attraction to anybody. I didn't think that I had a type.

But I felt pretty attracted to Riku. And honestly I hated it. God why does he have to be so pretty? Even his mannerisms were cute. I just wished he wouldn't stare at me so much. It was hard to sneak in a quick glance or two without him noticing and it becoming awkward. I put my book back down on my desk and tried to focus on anything but Riku. I just wanted class to be over. Not once, in my life have I ever wanted to run out of a classroom as badly as I wanted to right now. After what seemed like forever the end of class bell rang. I sat up and put my books in my backpack. I slid my backpack on and started walking out of the classroom. 

"Sora wait!" Riku stopped me suddenly.

What does he want from me? Is he going to keep bothering me now?

"Huh?" I said looking at him.

"Let me walk you to your next class?" He asked trying to grab my schedule out of my hand.

"Why?" I asked, moving it so it was out of reach.

"Because we're friends now." Riku said laughing.

Friends? Was he serious?

"We are?" I asked, I was confused more than anything.

"Well yeah, any friend of Roxas is a friend of mine." He said ruffling my hair which caught me off guard.

"O-okay." I mumbled not knowing how to respond.

Riku laughed and grabbed my schedule from me since I wasn't really paying attention.

"So can I walk you or not?" He said taking a look.

"I.. guess."

I didn't want to say no. I also didn't really know what to say at all. I wasn't expecting anyone to want to be my friend. Did that mean that all of Roxas's friends were mine too? No, they wouldn't want to be my friends. I didn't even know if Riku really wanted to be my friend. Was he just being nice to me because I'm the new kid at school. Part of me thought he was pretending. The other part of me didn't. I really didn't want him feeling sorry for me. I couldn't help but think about how much I missed my friends. I pulled out my phone opening up our group chat.

Hey guys, I really miss you. I want to go home already|

I was about to hit send but I didn't.  
I started to erase what I typed.

Hey guys, I really miss you|

Hey guys|

|

I stared down at my phone. I closed the group chat and placed my phone back in my pocket sighing. I'll text them later. I didn't want them to start worrying about me.

~Riku's POV~

"Are you coming?" I asked. 

Sora seemed to be lost in his own little world. I wondered what was up with him.

"Yeah I'm coming..." He said softly.

I walked out of the classroom and Sora followed from behind. 

I looked down at his schedule.

Homeroom - Room B102  
1st Period - AP English Language and Composition, Room E106  
2nd Period - AP Calculus AB, Room D101  
3rd Period - AP Physics, Room D207  
4th Period - AP US History, Room H109  
5th Period- Physical Education, Gymnasium  
6th Period - Study Hall, Library  
7th Period - Lunch B, Cafeteria  
8th Period - Arts & Crafts, Room C103

"Hmm...AP Calculus AB." I said aloud.

Then I realized that I had the exact same class. I took another glance at his schedule out of curiousity.

Wow what are the chances of that? 

All of his classes were exactly the same as all of mine. Meaning I would have to see him all day. I didn't mind. Atleast I'd have something nice to look at.

"Riku...you don't have to be my friend..." Sora mumbled. 

I could barely hear him but I did.

"But I am."

"Bu...is it thatbecause...you want to be my friend?" He asked.

"Of course Sora, I want to be your friend."

I wasn't sure why he had asked. I glared over my shoulder and over at Sora. He was looking straight down with shrunken shoulders. He looked like he was down about something. 

Did I do something? 

I wanted to ask if he was okay but I just left it alone. I didn't question him I just continued walking in the direction our class was in. When we finally arrived I held the door open for him letting him walk in first I walked in after him. He sat down in the seat closest to the door and I sat directly behind him. But we didn't talk much after that. The brunette sat silently in his seat and fidgeted with his pencil then proceeded to tap it against his desk. He continued doing so until he noticed he had dropped it on the ground. Something inclined me to reach down and pick it up. I bent down and leaned forward sticking out my hand in an attempt to grab it but just as I did I noticed Sora had also reached down for his pencil causing me to grab a hold of his hand instead. I looked into Sora's celestial blue eyes and he was looking into my sea foam green ones. We both blushed deeply gazing at one another in complete silence. Neither of us were able to tear our gaze away and it was as if time had frozen and we were stuck in this moment forever. I continued to gaze into Sora's eyes. There was something familiar about them. Something I hadn't noticed before. Could I have met you before? Just who the hell are you Sora? A couple of seconds had passed before Sora disconnected his gaze and pulled his hand away from mine. He attempted to speak but his voice was trembling.

"S- s... s-sorry." 

I looked down and noticed his pencil was still on the floor. I reached over to pick it up and handed it to Sora who began to blush deeper. 

"You dropped this." I said.

His hands were shaking but somehow he managed to grasp the pencil and take it out of my hand. He put it down on his desk.

"Thank you." He said as he turned back around.

~

After class both the brunette and silverette went to their next class together. But they didn't speak to each other and they tried to keep their eyes off the other. The silverette could tell he made the brunette uncomfortable and he didn't want to so he kept his distance. The blonde spikey haired boy, Roxas, walked the brown spikey haired boy, Sora, to his other classes until it was time for them to go to lunch. Riku, Axel, Xion, and Saix went to the cafeteria and got their lunches. Each of them sat at their usual spot together. Sora was still standing outside of the school library waiting for Roxas. Roxas's gym class was all the way on the other side of school so it took him a little longer to get to him. Sora was relieved when he finally saw him walking up to him from the other direction.

"Sora, ready to grab lunch?" Roxas asked.

"Yes, I'm starving!" Sora said rubbing his tummy.

He followed Roxas to the cafeteria. They got their lunches and sat down at a small rectangular table with the others. Riku and Axel sat across from Xion and Saix who were sitting next to each other but there was some space in between them. Sora sat in the empty spot seat across from Riku and Roxas sat next to Axel. Sora grabbed his burger and took a bite of it. Riku watched Sora eat. He knew it was kind of creepy to stare but he couldn't take his eyes off of the brown spikey haired boy. Sora noticed Riku staring at him and blushed. He hated it when Riku stared at him. He always got so flustered when the silverette made eye contact with him.

"So Sora how was class?" Roxas asked.

"Fine I guess." Sora said looking down playing with his food.

"Sora you're really shy you know that?" Roxas teased.

"Wh-what!" Sora' exclaimed, his voice shifting to a higher pitch than it was normally.

Roxas laughed bursting out into tears. Axel, Xion, and Saix turned their head to Sora and joined in on what they thought was a harmless laugh. Riku just smiled in a trance from Sora's cuteness.

"You're making him nervous Roxy. "Axel teased.

"Don't worry Sora. We're all friends here." Roxas said.

Sora held both hands up and over his face trying to cover up. His face was a big blushy mess.

Riku suddenly leaned across the table and placed his hands on top of Sora's. He moved them away from his face. He held his right hand in his left and with his other hand he put it partway through Sora's hair. His hair was soft. He looked into the brunette's sparkling blue eyes. 

"You're cute." Riku mumbled under his breath but somehow Sora still heard him.

"R-Riku..." Sora stuttered.

Sora's face was an even bigger blushier mess if that was even possible. He couldn't believe what the silvernette had just called him and that he was holding his hand. He was completely caught off guard but enjoyed the moment while it lasted. Sora felt the hard stares of everyone else around him.

"Riku you crushing on Sora now?" Roxas asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

Honestly Riku had forgotten that the others were still there. He was embarrassed and didn't want to scare Sora off. So he lied.

"Don't be stupid!? I don't even know him!" Riku growled releasing Sora's hand.

He moved both hands down to his side balling them up into a fist.

"Whatever idiot, that doesn't matter. You know you do like Sora."

Roxas wasn't fooled at all. He know it was all an act. He started singing a silly song to mock his bestfriend.

"Sora and Riku sitting in a tree..." he paused.

He felt Riku's eyes on him anger manifesting them but he continued his song.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carraige!" Roxas busted out laughing.

"I said no I fucking don't dumbass! Shut up already!" Riku yelled angrily and punched his bestfriend's arm.

"Ow! Stop hitting me moron! And c'mon...Give up already! You're such a bad liar."

Sora ignored their senseless arguing and pulled out a book from his backpack and started to read. He was silent for the rest of lunch. 

Roxas, Axel, Xion, and Saix all took turns teasing Riku until he finally got up and walked away from them. He knew it was all in good fun but he didn't want to be mocked and ridiculed in front of the small brunette whom he was developing a crush on. He took one final glance at Sora before he finally walked out. Sora had his eyes glued to his book. Riku smiled at the smaller boy.


	5. V. Memories

-after lunch period-

~Sora's POV~

I pulled out my schedule and skimmed to the very bottom to see what my next class was. I only had one more.

Finally just one more.

I sighed and looked behind me to see Riku standing by his locker angrily shoving books into it. I sighed again looking away. I didn't feel like going to class since I knew he was going to be there. I just couldn't look at his face. Not after what just happened. I held onto my stomach feeling a slight knot forming in the pit of it. I let out a deep breath and walked away. I heard the footsteps of someone running up behind me and a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see my cousins Roxas and Xion.

"Sora, ready to go to class?" Roxas asked with a huge smile.

Why did he have to stick by me.

He stood there waiting for my answer. I stood there thinking of an excuse to get out of going with him. I felt bad but I was contemplating just ditching class. I started to speak nervously.

"Uh...about that..."

Roxas stared at me with this look, a mix of curiousity and confusion filled his eyes. 

"I think...I... I can find it on my own... Don't worry about it!" I said trying to get the words out while not sounding too harsh.

"Are you sure, I really don't mind taking you." He said looking deeply concerned.

"Yeah I'm alright."

"Well okay...Guess i'll see you later." He said with a small sigh.

Roxas walked away but Xion stood there like a statue.

"Are you okay Sora? Is this about the thing with Riku at lunch?" She asked.

My heart felt like it had sank into my chest.

"N-no! I'm okay..really." I said placing my head over my heart.

I didn't know if she bought it but she just nodded and smiled. She walked away meeting up with Roxas and Axel. I sighed in relief and continued walking on my own. As I walked down the hall I saw a door leading somewhere on my left and classroom to my right. The classroom was empty for now. I knew this was it. Did I want to go in? I thought about it for a quick second and impulsively I turned to my left. I walked through the door that was now facing me it lead me in the bathroom. I thought about just hiding out in here for the rest of the day. I snapped out of my thoughts when I hear the door opening from behind me. Someone had walked in and the voice that I heard made my heart skip a beat.

"Sora." Said the voice.

It was Riku. Why was Riku here. 

Is he following me?

I turned around to find Riku standing there. His hands, the very same ones that once held mine which were soft to the touch, they were resting on Riku's hips. I stared at the silverette admiring how breathtakingly beautiful he was. My face looked flushed and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. Riku spoke snapping me out of my trance.

"Um.. Sora?"

"Riku what are you doing here?" I asked.

"This is the boys bathroom."

"Yeah I know that. But did you follow me in here?"

"Yes."

"Why!" I growled stomping my foot. 

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay? Are you... okay...?"

I didn't want to answer him. I was starting to get mad.

Maybe if I ignore him he'll go away.

"Are you?"

"I'm fine..." I said.

It was a lie but I knew he didn't believe me anyway.

"You're not fine...Just tell me what's really wrong?"

I hesitated. I didn't feel like talking about it. I knew exactly why I was getting so mad.

"Sora...is this about what happened earlier?"

It wasn't just about what had happened earlier. Sure I was thrown off for a minute but I knew deep down that it was just Riku messing with me. He didn't mean what he said about me. I knew he didn't really like me or want to be my friend. I went through this before at my old school. No one liked me. Everyone just teased me and I knew that this was exactly like that.

"It's not about that..." I said looking away from him.

" Whatever it is...I know you don't want me to know and you don't have to tell me... But....." He paused.

"I can't stand here knowing you're upset and just do nothing about it. I know I shouldn't care as much as I do but I do care about you. I know we only just met and maybe you don't care what I say because you don't know me. I can't blame you if you don't like me even...but you shouldn't be so sad. You shouldn't have to pretend like you're ok. I can see deep inside that you're hurting and I can feel it... "

Riku put his hand over his heart. I was speechless. What did he mean he could see and feel I'm hurting? He continued speaking with his hand over his heart.

"...Believe me Sora....I know all too well what that feeling is like. I just want to help you somehow and if I can't help then... I just want to be there for you..."

I could tell he seriously meant everything he said. But I felt guilty.

"I can't let you do that... I don't want you wasting your time."

"I'm not and even if I was wasting my time I still want to be there for you Sora and nothing you say to me is gonna change that."

I don't know what came over me but I couldn't hold in my emotions any longer. I was overflowing with sadness, hurt, anger, and pain. I broke down and I did so very literally. I fell to the ground crying. I couldn't catch my breath. I could feel Riku staring at me as I continued to cry. The tears rolled down my eyes down to my cheeks. I held my head down sobbing into my hands. I didn't even care how ugly I looked.

"But why? What's so s-special about me?"

Riku bent down in front of me. He placed his hand under my chin and lifted my head. I stared into his sea foam eyes. His expression and his smile melted me. His beautiful hair flowing. My heart fluttered at the sight. I wish I could say that I felt nothing. I wanted to feel absolutely nothing. But my head and my heart were in disagreement. 

"Sora... " he began to speak again, the sound of his voice penetrating my eardrums again melting me. 

"I know we just met but to me you're very special. You're kind... you're also really smart, you're shy and you're a little weird" he paused chuckling.

"...but I like all the small things about you Sora. It makes you, you. And I can honestly say that I have never met anyone like you. And I really am happy that you're my friend. Anyone would be lucky to have a friend as kind and loving as you are. So don't ever ask what's so special about you..."

"And Sora...I know that you've been through a lot. When I look in your eyes...I see a sadness that sort of feels so familiar to me. I know you've been through things and you don't have to share those painful memories with me, but I just want to see you smiling and happy...I want to see you smile and laugh every time I see you. I want you to think of me and trust that I'm right here for you Sora. And I want you to always know just how special you really are.... you should start loving yourself more...."

~

Riku comforted Sora, he didn't want him to hurt anymore. He also didnt want him to bottle his feelings but he understood how hard it was to talk about feelings. He had been there before. And he was used to comforting others. He's been doing it all his life. He always comforted Roxas, when he was struggling with being in the closet, when his mom would use drugs and hit him, he had to suffer through things growing up and nobody understood that pain but Riku because Riku had seen it all. He had been there for Roxas through some very hard times and was used to this by now. He comforted Sora, like he would with Roxas but he got a bit too carried away with Sora. Saying too much at times. Sora was starting to make him nervous and talk too much.

~

Riku leaned closer to me wiping my tear stained cheeks.

I admit what Riku said made me feel soft and warm inside. I damn near melted. Slowly I started feeling safe with him and the feeling that he made me feel felt sort of familiar to me. I couldn't understand why. But deep down my heart was still aching. I've dealt with so much in the past. It left me with physical and emotional scars.

"Riku...I love and appreciate everything you said about me...so... " I paused.

I knew what I said next would be hard, I didn't know if I was ready but I took a deep breath.

"I-"

Just when I was about to say something Riku pushed his finger against my lips.

"Tell me later. " he said.

I gave him a confused look.

"You aren't ready to tell me yet and that's fine so tell me later."

He was right. I nodded and stood up straightening myself out. Riku stood up and walked over to the mirror. 

"How long have we been in here?" I asked forgetting that we were supposed to be in class.

"I don't know but we should start heading to class. We don't need to get into any trouble." Riku said checking himself out in the mirror.

I glared at him from a distance while he fixed his hair. He was tall and masculine. His long silver locks resting perfectly on either side of his face and his cyan colored eyes that sparkled with tints of sea foam green. From head to toes Riku was a work of art. I hadn't noticed it before, or rather I noticed but hadn't had time to appreciate it. I always found myself in an awkward position whenever I was caught staring but this time I didn't care. 

He stares at me right, so why can't I stare back?

"Time to go." Riku said backing away from the mirror. 

"Right."

I followed him out and Axel happened to be standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He glared at us for a moment confused but didn't say a word.

Riku and I went to class. When it was over I followed Riku to his locker. Axel stood there staring at us. 

"Riku, Sora, do my eyes deceive me?" 

We both gave him confused look. 

"Did I really see you two come out of the restroom together earlier?" Axel asked in shock.

Riku and I both blushed at the same time.

"That wouldn't be any of your business!" Riku scowled.

"Whatever, have you seen Roxas.....?" Axel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Or were you too busy fucking your new toy?" Axel laughed.

"He's your boyfriend. How the fuck should I know where he is? You're the one that's up his ass all day." Riku hissed.

"Well you're not wrong!" Axel joked.

Riku ignored what Axel with a look of disguist.

"And shut up about me and Sora. We're friends Axel now let it go." Riku groaned.

"Want a ride home Sora?" Riku asked.

"Oh uh...sure." I said as I twirled my hair nervously.

"We can all squeeze in my car. " Axel told me.

" oh ok." I said.

"Yeah that doesn't scream pedophile at all." Riku joked.

Axel playfully shoved Riku.

Just then Roxas came running down the hall. 

"I get to ride shotgun!" Roxas said with a huge smile.

-time skip to everyone already in axel's car-

Roxas sat in the front seat by Axel. Xion, Saix, Riku, and I were all crammed in the backseat of Axel's car. And Axel was the driver. It was really uncomfortable and impossible to move around. I was sitting in between Saix and Riku and they were squishing me.

"How the hell can you guys sit like this!" I said making a huge fuss because I desperately needed more room.

"There's usually enough room for three people back there. But with you Sora that makes four." Axel said starting the car's engine.

"Riku scoot over some." I said shoving him aside.

Suddenly he grabbed a hold of my waist and lifted me up. He set me back down gently but now I was sitting in his lap.

"Wh-what are you-" 

Before I could say anything Riku pressed his finger against my lips in an attempt to shush me. I gave in and accepted sitting in his lap for now. I didn't know if this was better than being squished or not. Axel put the car in reverse and backed out. Then when he was ready to he pulled off asking for directions to my house along the way.

We went across some bumps and made a few sharp turns. Then I could feel "something hard" poking me from underneath my bottom. And I knew very well what it was. I tried not to pay attention to it. But it was hard to simply ignore. I also tried adjusting myself on Riku's lap but that didn't help much. The whole ride home was just plain embarassing. I never should've agreed to this.

"Is this it?" Axel said stopping in front of a large house.  
"Yes. This is my house." I said.

Finally! 

I got up from Riku's lap. I opened the door and got out. Riku leaned over grabbing my backpack and handed it to me.

"Thanks!" I said smiling. 

I waved to everyone and said goodbye. I stared up at Riku awkwardly and his eyes met mine.

"See you Sora." He said winking at me.  
I blushed hard biting my lip and then turned away.

I walked up to my house and let myself in the door. I looked behind me waiting for Axel to drive off but he didn't. I shrugged my shoulders shutting the front door.

"What a day!" I sighed taking off my shoes and throwing them by the door. 

I looked around to see if anyone was home. Then I realized my parents must have gone out. I ran up to my room and opened the door. I took off my backpack and set it down on the floor. I took off my clothes and changed into a tank top and shorts then I jumped into bed. I looked up to the ceiling. 

I guess that really wasn't so bad. 

I took my phone out and checked to see if I had any messages. Then I saw texts from my friends. I read them.

T: Hey Sora, you home yet? I wanna hear all about school how was it?

K: Yeah gives us all the details!

I had so much to tell them about school, about my new friends, and about Riku, the tall male with pretty silver hair and gorgeous sea foam green eyes. I knew it was just a crush and that he didn't like me back but I was still happy just thinking about him. I wondered what my bestfriends would think of him and what they would say. I wanted them to see how adorable he was. But they would just have to take my word for now. I stared at the group chat and started to type.

You guys aren't gonna believe what happened today|

*send*


	6. VI. Dreams

Riku had given Sora a flirtatious wink and watched him walk to his front door. Riku's smile soon dissolved and his lips began to curve slightly ressembling a slight frown. Riku took his eyes off the brunette and found himself glaring at Axel instead. But the tall redhead didn't say a word.

~Riku's POV~

Roxas turned around to look at me and mumbled something. 

"So...... Now that Sora's gone." 

Here we go...

"Riku...do you...like him? And be honest." Roxas questioned as he scratched the back of his head.

Oh for fucks sake!

The question caught me off guard but I didn't need to think about my answer. I just needed to form the words.   
"I..um... think he's cute and-"

"Yeah, you do stare at him pretty hard. I mean it's pretty obvious. You make the poor boy nervous." Axel interrupted lifting both arms up and placing them behind his head.

Is it really that obvious? 

"I think it's cute...Axel..." Xion added.

"I... I didn't know I was staring that hard... I hope I didn't freak him out..." I whisphered.

"Ok... but you never answered my question. Do you like him or not..?"

What? Is he really doing this right now? Why do I have to explain my feelings to him anyway? Only Sora would need to know how I feel but I'm not gonna tell him. Especially not just out of the blue.

"Look I told you before, Sora and I are friends. He doesn't like me and it doesn't matter how I feel about him so please drop it." I said crossing both my arms. Soon I found myself staring angrily out the window.

"And why haven't we moved yet?! I want to go home and take a hot shower." I said sucking my teeth.

"Thought maybe you wanted to go see Sora." Axel answered.

What?

I wasn't expecting that to be his answer.

"... No, now can we just get out of here!"

"Ok but... if you do like Sora, you should go for it. Maybe he likes you too and I think you two would be cute together. I ship it!" Roxas said with a hearty smile.

My eyes widened in shock.

"You need to get back out there and find a real boyfriend anyways. You need someone that'll make you smile and laugh, someone who gets you to make that stupid grin on your face you've had all day since Sora showed up." Roxas continued.

I blushed hard and once I had realized it I quickly turned away from the spikey haired blonde. I didn't blush that often. It was something that still suprised me. Warmth spread throughout my cheeks, butterflies fluttered around in the pit of my stomach, and my heart was beating rapidly like it was about to thump out of my chest. I could feel Roxas staring at me. He sure was annoying but I could see that he was just trying to be a good friend. 

After all I did encourage him to do the same when he met Axel 2 ½ years ago. He was too shy to make a move on Axel so I helped them get together. Now look at them. They're madly in love and always gushing about each other. It makes me sick but I'm glad Rox is finally happy. He needed to be happy. His life was hard.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep for a bit. I needed to kill some time since it would be a while until Axel dropped me off at home. 

He always dropped off Saix and Xion first since they lived a lot closer to school. Roxas and I lived down the street from each other and Axel lived right around the corner from me. I had my own place, while Roxas lived with his father. Axel did too. Xion was staying with her mother. 

All of us were really close. 

Roxas and Xion were my childhood bestfriends. We grew up doing everything together. Roxas was the dumb one that always made you laugh, Xion was the kindhearted one, the peacemaker between us, she always kept us from arguing, and I was the fun one, the adventurer of the group but I also protected them like I was there older brother. I was older, by a year. They needed me. They've been through a lot growing up. I knew that better than anyone. Also their parents just went through a messy divorce last year. It was a couple weeks after Roxas had come out as gay to his parents. 

His parents were outraged and they kicked him out. So I let him stay with me. I remember all those sleepless nights we shared because Roxas couldn't let any of it go. He was hurt and a mess I knew it and I couldn't really blame him for that. I lived with him, I seen it all for myself.

It was like his parents didn't love him anymore. One day his dad did come around and took Roxas in to live with him. And he took care of him but his mother kept his sister, Xion. Roxas didn't like that he and his sibling were in separate homes. And he didn't trust his mother. His mother had been on drugs and was clearly incapable of taking care of Xion. But his father didn't take her to court if, he did maybe things could've been a little easier. I honestly felt bad for him, his own mother. How could she do this to him? When I came out to my parents, they were accepting of it and they didn't care who I loved just as long as they didn't hurt me. 

I felt terrible that Roxas didn't have the understanding, support, and unconditional love of both of his parents. But Roxas still loved them and cared very much about them even though he was their "problem child."

And he always helped his mom out when she asked him for money even though he knew she would just use it to buy drugs. Roxas came to me all the time for advice and when he needed someone to comfort him. I had seen him cry before, so many times and I had to hold him until the crying had either stopped or until he had cried himself to sleep. I wanted him to be happy and grow from this experience.

It wasn't easy but one day we had met Axel and his bestfriend Saix. And Roxas fell for Axel as soon as they met. He would always talk to me about him but didn't have the courage to do anything about it. So I talked to Axel, he was a pretty great guy and it turned out he felt the same. They finally got together because I helped. And they've been together ever since. We've all been inseparable since day one. I wondered if it would be this way with Sora too. But I didn't want Sora to go through anything like what we did.

A half an hour had went by until I finally woke up. I rubbed my eyes and sat up in my seat. I stared out the window. It took me a minute to realize we were sitting outside Axel's place.

How long have we been sitting here?

I saw Axel and Roxas laying in the grass together. I got out of the car and went over to them.

"Oh you finally decided to join us?" Axel said smirking.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Oh uh, we were waiting for you of course. We figured we could come hang out with you for a little while." Roxas said leaning his head on Axel's stomanch.

"Alright. But promise me you won't ask any more questions about Sora." 

"Awe, you're no fun." Roxas whined. 

Axel ruffled Roxas's hair.

~

The three boys got up and walked to Riku's house. Axel carried Roxas bridal style. Once inside Riku went to his room to get ready for his shower. Meanwhile Axel and Roxas were in the living room. They snuggled under a blanket together on the sofa and watched TV. 

Once Riku finishes with his shower he goes to his room, walks over to his dresser, and opens it. He grabs a random pair of boxers out of his drawer and puts them on. Then he puts on his signature blue cropped trousers that are hemmed with a checkered pattern. He puts on a white v-neck shirt, with a black hooded jacket overtop of it that he keeps unzipped, with short sleeves, gold buttons, and the same checkered pattern at the hem. To finish his outfit he adds black glovelettes on each hand and black high-top boots. Finally feeling satisfied with his outfit change he leaves out of his room and goes to the living room to see what his bestfriends are up to. 

Riku smiles when he catches the two lovebirds snuggling each other on the sofa. He had to admit that they were adorable. Axel fell asleep with his arm wrapped around Roxas' shoulder. And Roxas fell asleep with his head softly pressed against Axel's chest. Riku snuck by the two lovebirds careful not to wake them and went into the kitchen to grab himself a snack. He took his phone out of his pocket and stared down at it while munching on some pocky. Then Riku got an idea.

~Sora's POV~

I hung upside down from my bed waiting for one of my bestfriends to text me back. Even though I really had no idea what I would say. I had way too many things that I wanted to say. 

I heard my phone vibrate and I grabbed it while still hanging upside down. The chat was already opened. My hands were shaking and I was slightly afraid that I'd drop the phone on my face. I started to type the first thing that was on my mind. I made some slight errors but no biggie because the auto correct was on. I hit send and sat upright on my bed glancing down at my phone. I read the text in my mind.

You aren't going to believe it but I like someone I really really like someone

Then I scrolled up to see who had sent me a reply and what they said. I was expecting it to be Kairi or maybe Tidus. But it wasn't. My heart began to sink deep inside my chest, as I looked at the name of the person who had sent me the text.   
Riku Fujishima It read. Riku? I sent it to RIKU?

I looked at the text again. Hoping it might somehow not be real. But it was. And it didn't matter how much I stared, it never went away.

Riku Fujishima: Hey Sora, I just wanted to invite you to our group chat since we're all friends here.

Group chat? The others are here too!? Just when I thought I couldn't feel any worse. I saw that Riku was trying to type something. I felt humiliated and didn't even know what to say. But I also cared what he would say and what he would think. I backed out of the chat and went back to my group chat with Kairi and Tidus. And told them what happened. 

K: Wait so does he know?

S: I don't know. He's typing something. 

T: Don't tell him you like him. It's much too soon.

S: I know, it was an accident. I didn't mean to. 

K: it's okay Sora. When are you going to show us this Riku? And your house?

S: I don't know. But I will. 

My phone vibrated again. This time it was from the other group chat. I switched over to the other group chat. So far no one else was talking just Riku. 

R: You do? That's great Sora. I hope he/she really really likes you too. 

I didn't know if I should be happy that he didn't know I was talking about him or if I should be sad that he was happy for me to like someone else. I felt confused but I had no choice but to go with it.

S: Yeah thanks me too. So where is everyone?

R: Roxas and Axel are at my house asleep on the sofa. Xion is probably doing homework. I have no idea what Saix would be up to at this hour.

S: I see. Well thank you for inviting me to the group chat. :)

R: Right, of course. See you at school tomorrow?

S: yea see you around Riku

What am I going to do?

~

Sora closed the group chat. He spent the rest of the night worrying about Riku and talking with his bestfriends through video chat. He told them all about Riku, his new school, his new house, the friends he made, and they talked for hours. Sora eventually fell asleep. 

In his sleep Sora dreamed of Riku. He had no idea that this was just the beginning and that all of his dreams from this day forward would always be about the silver haired boy. 

Meanwhile, Riku was still at his house. He was sitting outside on the porch. His bestfriends were still asleep and he was all alone. He looked up at the night sky. A small pout formed on his lips. The thought of Sora liking somebody else was tearing him apart. He felt something similar once before. He couldn't stop thinking about what Roxas said to him earlier. "You need to get back out there and find a real boyfriend."

A real boyfriend he says.

Riku shut his eyes trying to think. But he couldn't. His heart was hurting too much to think about anything other than Sora. He sighed knowing how pointless it was to try and remember the things he forgot. He went back inside. Roxas had just woken up. He tapped Axel on the shoulder waking him up too. 

"Riku, what time is it?" Roxas asked in a sleepy voice.

"Almost 8." Riku replied.

"Whaaat? I need to go home right now. Axel come on!" Roxas said slapping his boyfriend's arm.

'I'm up! I'm up!" Axel got up yawning and frowned at his boyfriend.

Riku frowned. He knew he was about to be all alone again now.

Roxas had noticed the frown on his bestfriends face.

"Riku you okay man?" Roxas asked deeply concerned.

"Yeah, it's nothing. I'll figure it out on my own. You guys should head home it's getting really late." Riku said, forcing a smile.

"You really shouldn't try to do so much on your own." Roxas said with a sigh.

Riku eyes widened. "Thats it!" 

He remembered someone saying the exact same thing to him before a long time ago. He couldn't remember who said it. It happened many years ago, when he was 5 years old. All he could remember was that it was a boy and he had blue eyes. Riku put his hand on his chin and tried to think of who this boy was and why did he start remembering him now. He had tried to remember for years but couldn't remember a thing until now.

Roxas stared at him confused. "What's it?" He asked.

"Remember the boy I forgot. I'm starting to remember him now." Riku said. His face brightened.

"Really?" Roxas and Axel asked at the same time.

Riku nodded.

"That's good Riku. I really do hope you find him again. But I also don't want you to get hurt again."

"I won't get hurt this time."

"Okay, Axel. Let's go home." 

Roxas and Axel walked home and Riku went to his room to get some sleep. He got into his bed and closed his eyes falling into a deep slumber. He started having a dream. It was in black and white. In the dream he saw himself and another boy. They were playing together on what looked like a beach. This wasn't just a dream but a memory. A very precious memory of Riku's. When Riku woke up from his dream he tried to picture what this boy would look like now. Riku wondered if his dreams could somehow lead him to finding this boy again. This boy was his most precious person. He was his light and he believed he could be his soulmate. He promised when they were kids that he would always protect him. And he made a promise to himself that no matter what he would find the strength to protect what matters even if he had to go searching for it. It was clear that Riku now had this strength and was more than ready now to use it.


	7. VII. Promises

~Riku's POV~

I heard noises along with a rumbling in my tummy. I rubbed both my eyes and rolled over to my side and sat up by the window. I pulled down the blinds to see what was going on outside. It was early in the morning and I couldn't see anyone but I could still hear voices. Still I refused to get out of bed yet and instead I laid there staring up at the ceiling. Something caught my eye. A toy ship. The toy ship hung from the ceiling and on it were two dolls. I stared at the ship and I thought about the boy from the dream. I was sure that he was the one who gave it to me. I kept it after all these years. It was supposed to mean something, something important. But I couldn't remember. I sighed and sat up. My tummy rumbled again. I went to the bathroom washed my face fixed my hair and then walked to the kitchen. When I opened the fridge I heard a knock at the door.

Damnit!

I answered the door and no surprise there it was Roxas and Axel. 

"Good Morning Riku." Roxas said.

He seemed to be in a really good mood. I welcomed them both inside and went back to roaming the fridge for food. I finally settled on making pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I grabbed everything out of the fridge and started to cook.

Axel laid sprawled out on the sofa while Roxas tip toed up to me. I wondered what he was up to and why he was all smiles today.

"So Riku, I heard Sora likes someone."

"Oh you saw that?" I said looking down.

For some reason when Roxas brought up Sora I didn't want to eat anymore. The hurt came back and this time worse than before.

"Yeah, don't you want to know who Sora likes?" Roxas asked.

"Honestly, I'd rather not know that. I don't care. As long as Sora's happy then I'm happy." 

I meant what I said but it didn't make it hurt any less. I grabbed some plates and began fixing a plate for all three of us. We sat down and ate breakfast. I tried to eat even though I didn't care about being hungry anymore. After eating I went to my room and changed into my school uniform. I grabbed my backpack and made sure I had my phone ready to go. 

"You guys ready?" Axel asked.

Roxas and I nodded and walked out of my house. I locked the door and got in the backseat of Axel's car.

"Saix said that he's not coming to school today. But don't forget to tell him happy birthday today." Said Axel.

"Come on, I would never forget his birthday!" I laughed.

Axel drove to Xion's house and picked her up. Now the gang was all here except for Saix of course.

"Ok ready to head to school?" Roxas asked, smiling at his boyfriend.

Axel ruffled his boyfriend's hair.

"Maybe we should stop at Sora's house first and see if he needs a ride?" The redhead suggested.

"Good idea." Roxas said.

Axel drove to Sora's house, by the size of it, it was more like a mansion. Anyways he drove to Sora's house. And Axel reached down grabbing Roxas's hand in his. It was times like these that I was a bit jealous I didn't have a boyfriend. When we got to Sora's house we couldn't really tell if he was home and there wasn't a single car parked outside. Who knew if his parents were even home.

"Go see if he's there?" Roxas said looking at me.

"You want me to go look?" I asked a bit suprised.

"Yeah go! And hurry up." Roxas groaned.

Fine I'll do it then.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car and walked up to the gates. I opened them and followed the brick path up to his front door. I knocked on the door and waited. I didn't hear anything or see anyone. I was about to turn away when I noticed the door flung open. And on the other side was Sora. His eyes were red with slight bags under them. He looked like he hadn't got enough sleep. But he was still cute. He just stood there in the doorway. His skin was pale but his cheeks turned a rosey pink. I didn't know why he was suddenly blushy but he was so god damn adorable. I looked at him groping for words.

"Uh... we wanted to give you a ride to school?"

"Ok... just-just wait right here." He said while slamming the door in my face and running away.

I turned around and waited for Sora.

After a couple minutes he came back.

"S-sory about that Riku. I'm ready now." Sora said closing the door behind him.

We walked together along the brick path. Sora was looking down at the ground. He was even quieter than the last time I had saw him. I just wanted him to look at me, to talk to me, to acknowledge my existence. I reached for Sora's hand and intertwined our fingers together. Sora gasped but didn't pull away. It came as a shock to him and honestly I was quite shocked myself too.

~Sora's POV~

Riku and I walked side by side. I avoided staring at him. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell him the truth. But there was no way that I could do that. As we walked down the brick path, I saw something out the corner of my eye. Riku's hand extended out like he was reaching for mine. I felt his hand grab a hold of mine and he intertwined our fingers together. I gasped. It caught me by surprise. But I didn't pull away. I couldn't pull away because this is what I wanted. I wanted Riku. I liked Riku but I couldn't understand why it was so hard for me to tell him that. Why couldn't I just say those words. I like you. That's all I had to say. I tried to say it but I couldn't look him in the eyes and just do it because I was so terrified. 

"Riku... I..I...I...li-" 

Riku cut me off before I could get the words out. 

"I know. You like someone else. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." Riku said letting go of my hand.

No that's not true. You dummy...I like you. I could never like anyone else. 

I followed behind Riku, I wanted to say something anything but I couldn't. I didn't want to make it worse. Soon we met up with Axel, Roxas, and Xion. I sat in the back with Riku. Riku sat sluggish with his head resting against his palm while he looked out the window. I turned my head looking out the other window not saying a word the entire time. Once we got to school I stopped by my locker and put some books away and got what I needed for English. Then I went into my classroom. I sat in my assigned seat and listened to the teacher. I found my eyes getting heavier and heavier. I didn't get enough sleep last night. Not since the dream. Last night I had a dream about a boy. He lived on the islands with me. We would play on the beach together and lay under the stars at night. He was older than me by a year and was better at everything. He promised me that he would always protect me. I gave him something, something important to me. Then I woke up. But it didn't feel quite like a dream. It felt like a memory. But I had no memory of ever meeting this boy before. I didn't even know what he looked like or his name. I thought I must've simply imagined him. I stayed up all night trying to figure out why I was dreaming about him. But I didn't have any idea. 

I heard voices around me but they began to fade. I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Slowly I began to close my eyes and drift off into a deep sleep. Then I saw him again. He was laying down beside me. He held my hand in his as we slept together. Everything was a blur. I couldn't make out what he looked like. The only thing I could see clearly was his hair. His hair was white or maybe silver. I didn't know if he was real but something made me want to believe in him and the promise he made to me.


	8. VIII. And Every Day After

~Riku's POV~

After finishing my assignment for English, I closed my books and put them in my backpack. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone checking to see if I got any texts. I saw one from Roxas that he must've just sent me a few minutes ago. I texted him back. Then he and I continued to text each other back and forth for the remainder of the class period. 

Our conversation went like this:

Hey, Riku did something happen   
today with Sora?

Why do you ask?

Because neither of you have said   
a word since this morning.

I did something stupid and I   
may have ruined any chance  
that I still had with him...

What did you do?

It's not important.

Tell me.

Just ask Sora yourself. I don't   
really feel like talking about it  
anymore. Sorry!😔

Fine, I'll ask him. I guess I'll  
see you at lunch.

~

After reading that last text message I slipped my phone back in my pocket before anyone could rat on me and get me in trouble with our teacher. I sighed and slowly shifted my attention to the boy sitting next to me. That's when I noticed that Sora was asleep. I leaned forward placing both hands on either side of my face while I looked at Sora with a loving smile on my face. Look at his face. Sleeping like nothing's wrong, like there's nothing to even worry about.

Naturally I wanted to leave him be. I knew how much he needed to rest but I didn't want him to get in trouble for sleeping in class. So I waited, until the teacher was looking away then I reached over and tapped Sora on the shoulder. It startled him but that certainly got him to wake up. After English had ended I walked up to Sora.

"Here" I said as I reached inside my bag and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Give it back when you're done with it." I said handing him my English assignment.

"Thanks Riku!" Sora said, he gave me a big open mouth smile to show his gratitude.

It happened to be one of the most precious things I've ever seen in my life. I was in a complete daze. I was captivated by his smile.

"You're welcome." I looked over at Sora and smiled.

A light blush ran along his face. 

Sora and I walked down the hall side by side. We headed to our next class together which was AP Calculus, though Sora had stopped at his locker first. He put his English book in his locker and grabbed his Calculus book. Then he shut it and quickly turned around to face me. Our eyes met.

"Riku..."

"Yeah Sora...?"

Sora placed his Calculus book in his bag and held his left hand out in front of me.

"Will...will you.. w-will you walk me to class?"

Sora's face became red almost instantaneously.

"Yes!" I blushed.

I held out my right hand and placed it in his left hand, intertwining my fingers with Sora's. Sora and I then walked to our Calculus class together hand in hand. But before going inside Sora stopped me. I felt Sora suddenly and completely wrap both of his arms around me. He leaned in a little closer and buried his head into my chest as he held on to me tightly. I muffled a sound of suprise. I could feel my heart began to pulsate through my chest. And with every beat of my heart it grew even more rapid. I lowered my gaze to Sora instinctively wrapping my arms around Sora's waist. I held him even closer to me. I didn't want to ever let him go. Sora raised his head and buried his soft face into my neck practically melting me. I placed a hand at the back of Sora's head and slowly ran my fingers through his soft hair. I had to be dreaming. There's no way that this was actually happening. Just then Sora broke free. He straightened himself out and then looked up at me.

"There's something I need to tell you. Let's talk later."

"Okay." I said ruffling Sora's hair. 

Sora smiled softly before heading into the classroom. I walked in after him and we took our seats. I wondered what it was that he wanted to tell me. We spent 45 minutes in Calculus class before the bell dismissed us. 

~

Sora went to his locker to get his things for Physics class when he noticed Roxas had already been standing there waiting for him. Roxas asked to talk with Sora alone. Sora told Riku to go on without him and he would see him in class. He wondered what his cousin wanted to talk to him about. Roxas had asked Sora if everything was okay with him and Riku. To which Sora answered "Everything is okay now."

"What was wrong before?" Roxas asked.

"I.. I thought I did something that hurt Riku's feelings." Sora said with a bit of his own sadness showing through.

"Explain..." 

"Okay so this morning after Riku asked if I wanted a ride to school. We were walking together to Axel's car and Riku well... he...reached for my hand. He held my hand and I let him. I tried to tell him something but he wouldn't let me finish." Sora said looking awfully disappointed.

"Wait, so what happened after that?"

"He let go of my hand and told me that he already knew what I was going to say. He said he knew that I liked someone else and that he shouldn't have tried anything." 

"Is that true, do you like someone else or is Riku the one you like?"

Roxas waited for an answer but Sora never gave him one. In his mind he was freaking out. He didn't expect Roxas to catch on so quickly. He didn't want to confess here and now. What if the news got back to Riku? What then? Sora quickly tried dodging his question.

"I wish I could tell you but I had better get to class before I'm late. Maybe we can talk about it another time. "

Sora bolted out of there as fast as he could. When he was far enough he stopped and panted trying to catch his breath. Then he let out a huge sigh of relief. He hoped that Roxas wouldn't say anything. He had to be the one to tell Riku and it had to be on his own terms. When he was ready to have that discussion with Riku. Sora walked into his physics class and sat down in his seat. About halfway through the class his teacher had mentioned something about an end of the year project that was worth 60% of their final grade. He handed out packets to every student who sat in the first row and asked them to pass them around. Sora and Riku looked over the packet while the teacher continued to talk. They had a wide selection to choose from on what they wanted their project to be based on and each one described what the requirements were and what they needed to do in order to get a good grade. Sora looked up at his physics teacher.

"Everyone is going to have to choose a group or partner up with someone for this project. You will split the work evenly and no more than 3 people per group." 

Sora and Riku both looked at each other when their teacher said this. They both shared the same thought. 

Once the teacher was done explaining the project in full he dismissed the class.

Riku walked over to Sora who was putting his things in his bag.

"Sora, would you like to be my partner?" 

"Of course!" Sora smiled.

He got up and followed behind Riku. The brunette and the silverette walked to the rest of their classes together. 

Every day they walked to class together and during those walks they took together they seemed to make conversation. This improved the personal bond that they shared. Riku never wanted to leave Sora's side and you could say the same for Sora, that he never wanted to leave Riku's side. Neither of them ever confessed their feelings but in time they grew very fond of one another. But no matter how much time they spent together their was still one thing that never escaped their minds. Which were the dreams. They never went away. Every night they would continue to dream. Little by little the memories returned. Sometimes throughout the day images and flashbacks would come rushing into Sora and Riku's minds. They couldn't forget. 

The only features that Sora could remember about the boy from his past was his albino colored hair. He also knew that the boy was taller than him. They used to play together on the Islands. And they were extremely close, like two peas in a pod, they were bestfriends. That very same boy that he couldn't remember not only were they bestfriends but he did anything to try and protect Sora. And he did almost anything he could to keep a smile on Sora's face. Sora, in due time would come to realize that he really truly loved him.

And all Riku could seem to remember was that the boy in his dreams had blue eyes. Those same blue eyes that Riku found himself staring into every day at school. The boy was noticeably smaller than Riku and his heart was made up of pure light leaving very little darkness inside but it still lurked in his heart. Riku did all he could to protect him. He had seen his former bestfriend hurt before plenty of times. His face, his tears that streamed down and rolled off his cheeks, his cries of misery and sadness, all of it was burned into Riku's memory at one point in time. Nothing had ever broken his heart or his spirit more. That's when he made the smaller boy a promise, to always protect him and to do absolutely anything just to see him smile. He didn't care about a single thing more. Riku cared so much for him and still did to this day, even though they hadn't crossed paths in over 12 years. Riku didn't even remember where he had met the boy or why they weren't in close contact anymore. In almost every single one of his dreams they had played together on the beach. And yes, there was a beach in Twilight Town but for some reason they didn't look anything alike. Their oceans and the shores they touched were much too different. This boy could be anywhere and Riku knew he might never find him but he never lost hope.


	9. IX. Sora's Party Pt. 1 Planning

Sora was alone in his room. He sat at his desk in front of his computer trying to work on his psychics project. It was 3am. He had been up all night working on his half of the project and didn't even realize how late it was. Sora could hardly focus and his eyes felt like weights. It became next to impossible for him to keep them open. He yawned and decided he was done for the night. He saved his work on his computer and shoved his books in his bag. He was extremely exhausted and had very little strength left in him but he tried to muster up just enough to atleast make it to his bed. Sora plopped down on his bed and covered himself with his blankets and soon was fast asleep. He started having another one of his dreams. He dreamed about him and a silver haired boy. They were walking along the shore of Destiny Islands and they were holding hands. In Sora's other hand he held a star shaped fruit. It was the legendary Paopu fruit. The legend said that if two people shared one their destinies would become intertwined and they would remain a part of each others lives forever. Sora held the paopu up to the other boys face. "Hey ---- you know what this is right?" Sora asked the other boy. "Yeah, it's a paopu fruit. Legends says if two people share one their hearts will stay connected and they'll be bounded together forever." Said the boy. Sora smiled at the boy lovingly, " ---- we should share one, I want to be a part of your life forever, no matter what." The boy stared at Sora. If he could spend his life with anyone he wanted it to be Sora. Without answering he bit into the fruit. Sora also bit into the star shaped fruit and gulped it down. It tasted really sweet. The boy looked at Sora and blushed. They continued to walk along the beach hand in hand. Both their hearts and stomachs full.

Sora had already began to awaken from his slumber. He stared at the ceiling trying to process what he had just seen. He placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. A single tear coursed down his cheek. His most precious person. His most precious memory. How could he have forgotten about it? He already knew the answer to that. For so long he had forced himself to forget. To leave the past in the past. All of it became a distant memory until one day it didn't exist in his heart anymore. Sora's heart that was once full of light had slowly plunged itself with more and more darkness. He had to free his heart of it all and that meant losing his most precious memories. At first just bits and pieces of Sora's memories became lost. And he started forgetting things about this boy. His name, what he looked like, their connection to each other. Those memories also faded from Riku. But because they shared the paopu fruit Sora was able to retrieve his memories. His memories were never truly lost. Sora's hands were shaking and his eyes were filled to the brim with tears.

Meanwhile, Riku had just woken up after having had the same dream. He sat up and was a bit shaken up but regained his composure. He got out of bed and took a shower and met with his bestfriends Roxas and Axel like he did every morning on a school day. It was Friday and it had been quite a long week. Axel, Roxas, and Riku went to go pick up Xion, Saix, and Sora.

Everyone was mighty chatty today except for Sora and Riku. They hadn't said a single word to anyone or to eachother. It wasn't until 6th period study hall that one of them finally said something. It was Riku who finally had broke the ice.

"Sora?" Said Riku.

The brunette stopped working on his US History homework to glance at the tall silverette.

"Yeah Riku?" Sora grunted.

Riku wanted to ask him why he was so quiet but that wasn't a very logical thing to do considering he had also been quiet and distant.

"How's the project coming along?" 

He and Sora had talked a lot more now but for some reason now he didn't know how to start a conversation. He had a lot on his mind. 

"Good." Sora grumbled.

They had been working on the project together for a week now. They worked on it during study all and would stay after school and work on it in the library. It was coming along just fine. They tried not to stress about it too much.

Sora went back to working his homework. He was literally trying his best to keep his mind off of things.

"Good, let's take a break though. You don't have to stay after school today." Riku said then he didn't bother him again.

Sora nodded.

After study hall Sora and Riku met with the others in the cafeteria for lunch. Everyone was in a great mood except for Sora he was down in the dumps. The others devised a secret plan to get Sora out of his funk. Everyone but Riku knew about this secret plan.

"Sora are your parents still away on that you know trip or whatever you said they went to?" Axel asked winking to Roxas.

"Yeah, they're still gone." Sora answered, his eyes sparked with curiousity.

"Well we thought it would be fun to throw a party?" Axel continued.

"A party?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. That is of course if you don't mind us having it at your place Sora?" Saix imposed.

"I... I don't know." Sora whisphered.

"I think it's a great idea." Said Riku.

"You do?" Sora asked, his eyes widened.

"Yeah. Besides you need to have some fun for a change. You work way too hard Sora. Let's through a big party and invite everyone. You can also invite some of your friends from back home. What do you say?"

The thought of Sora having a party and inviting his friends from back home would really help cheer him up. It was a great idea. How could he say no? 

"Alright, let's do it!" Sora's face brightened.

Everyone else was happy to see Sora so pumped. They were also excited to have a party.

"So when should we have it?" Xion asked.

"Do you know how popular I am? Today, 7 o clock. Just leave everything to me. The whole school is gonna be there. We'll have killer music, food, drinks, everything on me. You just be there!" Axel said smirking.

"Okay, can't wait."

After the bell Axel and the others invited everyone from school to come to Sora's house for his party. 

After school he stopped to get food, drinks, and everything else that they needed to for the party. 

When Sora finally got home he asked his parents if it was ok for him to have a party. They didn't care they just told him not to do anything stupid and to make sure that everyone go home safe after the party. Once he had their approval he sent the invites out to all of his friends from back home. They got permission from their parents to come. Sora was going to pick them up in his dad's limo. But Axel had to drive them since Sora couldn't drive yet. Everything had fallen into place and the party was on!


	10. X. Sora's Party Pt. 2 Preparing

Sora was in his living room lounging on the couch watching a scary movie. He reached down grabbing a handful of popcorn out of a big round bowl that he had placed in his lap. His eyes were glued to the TV screen. Some girl had wandered out into the woods all alone in the dark. She was scared and felt like something was following her. She suddenly stepped on a tree branch and snapped it in half. The sudden sound alarmed her. Then she backed up in a panic. Sora braced himself for a jump scare. Just as she had backed up and was about to collide with a estranged psycho wearing a mask a loud noise had startled Sora. He jumped up screaming and spilled his popcorn all over the floor. "Damnit!" He cursed realizing that it was just the door. Sora got up and reached down picking up the popcorn. The girl in the movie had been struck with a sharp kitchen knife and was stabbed multiple times in the stomach. She screamed out in agonizing pain. Sora grabbed the remote off the couch and turned of the TV and walked to the door to answer it. Riku, Roxas, Axel, Xion, and Saix stood on the other side of the door. Each of them holding a bag of goodies. "Come in." Sora said welcoming them inside. This was the first time they have ever seen the inside of Sora's mansion. 

"Wow it's so beautiful!" Xion complimented.

"Thanks!" Sora said showing them to the kitchen. 

They placed their bags on the table.

"Ok, Sora we need to go get your friends." Axel reminded.

"Roxas, Xion, and Saix agreed to stay behind and start setting up for the party so Riku and I will come along." 

"Alright, let me grab my jacket and I'll be right out." Sora ran upstairs to grab his jacket.

Riku and Axel waited downstairs.

Sora rushed downstairs putting his jacket on "I'm ready!" He exclaimed.

The three of them left taking Sora's dad's limo. The other three stayed behind and set up for Sora's party.

-in the limo-

"Alright, so where are we going?" Axel asked strapping on his seatbelt.

Sora texted his friend's address.

"They're all going to meet here and should be ready by the time we get there." 

"Ok, strap yourselves in and let's go!" Said Axel. 

Sora and Riku both strapped themselves in. 

Then Axel began to drive. He followed the directions from his gps. They would get there in approximately 2 hours and 7 minutes. It was 3:05pm now. By the time they made it back to Sora's house it would be 7:19pm or 7pm with Axel's driving.

Axel turned on the radio. It played Sanctuary by Utada Hikari. 

Sora stared out the window admiring the beauty of Twilight Town.

Riku just enjoyed being brought along for the ride. He was kind of curious about the Islands. 

Meanwhile, Roxas filled 3-4 large bowls with different flavors of punch. Xion grabbed large bowls too and filled them with party snacks. Saix had brought the alcohol and was setting up the party music. They kept the food fresh and the drinks cold for the party. Once it got closer to 7 they were going to order pizzas. They also planned to play party games like truth or dare, spin the bottle, never have I ever, and so much more. There was also going to be a photo booth to take lots of pictures. This party was about to be so much fun. They could hardly wait. Once everything was set up all three of them sat on the couch on their phones and waited for either party guests to show up or for the others to get back.

Axel had been driving for about an hour and a half. They almost arrived at the Islands. Riku was starting to doze off when Axel called him.

"Hey, Riku!"

"Huh, what?" 

"Call Roxas for me and ask him how everything is coming along?"

"Okay."

Riku grabbed his phone from his pocket and called Roxas. His phone rang about two times before he answered it.

"Hello."

"Hey, uh how is everything over there?"

"Good, we finished setting everything up. We're just waiting for guests to arrive but it's still really early, did you guys get there yet?"

"We're almost there now. I'll call you when we're on our way back." 

"Okay, tell Axel I love him."

"Alright, see you guys soon."

Riku disconnected the call. 

"Everything is good. They finished setting up. Said they're just waiting for us and the party guests now. And he said he loves you."

Axel smiled. "Good! God I miss Rox already."

"Oh yeah Axel, how long have you and Roxas been dating?" Sora asked.

"2 years and 7 months. Got it memorized!" Said Axel with a huge grin.

"Yeah! Wow, that's a long time." Sora smiled.

"Yup. Feels like forever." 

"Axel. Thank you."

"For what Sora?" Axel asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"For making him happy." Sora smiled and even bigger smile.

Riku chuckled. He turned his head and glanced out the window. His eyes widened in suprise. No fucking way.

"This is Destiny Islands?" Riku asked pressing his face up against the window. 

This place.  
Why did it look and feel so familiar?

"Yeah, this is where I grew up. My friends are here." Sora looked at Riku who was in complete shock.

Riku admired the Islands from afar. He was utterly speechless. The Destiny Islands, it wasn't like Twilight Town at all. The island itself was rather small but seemed to be both relaxing and peaceful. The seashore area was naturally covered with yellow sandy beaches, exotic trees, shrubberys and wooden constructions all around. There was a waterfall, a shack, and a treehouse built into a large tree. Next to the island there was a miniature sized island that looked like it could easily be reached by crossing a bridge or just by swimming across and using a nearby latter. The main island was were the residents lived and went to school. It was way bigger than the Islands that Sora played on. It also had a small beach with a dock and the town behind it appeared to be fairly large. 

"Sora it's... it's...beautiful." Riku admitted.

But what really made the islands appear to be so beautiful, was the way that the sun filled the sky with it's warmth and radiant glow. How it's rays, like fingers stretched across the darkened sky. The fiery ball of light rising from the horizon, coloring the sky in shades of orange and yellow. It was a beautiful sight to behold. 

"That's one of the reasons I never wanted to leave..." Sora said looking at Riku. Riku looked at Sora, he felt a little hurt by his words.

"But... you know what. I'm glad that I did because if I hadn't then I never would have met you." Sora blushed at Riku.

"Sora are you blushing?" Riku said laughing it off.

"Uh...no I-" Sora brought his hands up to his face.

"Really because I can see red all over your face." Riku teased.

"Hey, don't say that!" Sora brought his hands away from his face and crossed his arms instead.

Riku and Axel laughed.

"I'm only kidding. I'm glad you did come here because I'm happy we met." Riku said. 

It only made Sora's face get even redder.

"Get a room you two!" Axel teased.

Sora tried to keep his composure.

"You guys, I'll be right back. I'm gonna go find my friends." Sora said.

Riku and Axel nodded. Sora got out of the limo and went to go find his friends. When Sora finally found them he brought them back to the limo and introduced everyone. 

"Kairi, Tidus, Selphie, Wakka, Cloud, Leon meet Axel, and this is Riku."

Axel and Riku shook their hands and said hello. 

Kairi's eyes lit up when she was introduced to Riku.

"Hello, Riku. I'm Kairi."

"Hi Kairi, it's nice to meet a friend of Sora's."

Everyone grabbed a seat and was prepared to take off.

Kairi sat next to Sora and nudged him with her elbow. "You told me he was cute but you never mentioned Riku is a total hottie. Lucky you, right?" She whisphered in his ear. 

Sora's face turned red on the spot "Keep your voice down." Sora mumbled to Kairi.

"Alright everyone ready to go!" Axel asked before heading to Sora's. Everyone nodded. Riku called Roxas to let him know they were on their way back. Soon the party guests started to arrive. Roxas had ordered the pizzas. Then finally Sora and the others made it back in time for the party to start.


	11. XI. Sora's Party Pt. 3 The Main Event

~Riku's POV~

I walked into Sora's house and was dumbfounded. There were so many people who ended up coming. It was a good thing that Sora's house was huge as hell. It looked like everyone from our grade came to Sora's party and some upper classman. I took off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack over by the front door. 

I walked into the kitchen. Saix handed me a drink and told me to let loose and have fun. I smelled it first. It had alcohol in it which I never had before but I figured it was okay as long as I didn't have too much. Saix also offered Sora a drink and he took it. I chugged mine and almost spit it out immediately. Ew, this is disgusting. Who would voluntarily want to drink this? But it was a party setting after all so I guess it didn't really matter. I went back to go grab some more drinks. I lost track of how many I had but once I started to feel them kick in I stopped. Everything had looked like sort of a blur to me and I felt a headache coming on. I rubbed my head and groaned then I went to go sit on the couch. 

Xion was sitting on the couch with Roxas who seemed completely out of it. Axel was next to them. He looked pissed for some reason. Sora's friends were sitting around in a circle on the floor. Sora walked passed me. He looked intoxicated. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me. 

"Hey, want to go join your friends?" I asked him. 

"Yeah." He answered. 

He struggled to walk. He would take a few steps and then start to fall over. I caught him and wrapped an arm over his shoulder and I held him by the waist. I helped him walk to where his friends were sitting. Then I helped him sit down and I sat down next to him. 

"Hey guys, we're about to play truth or dare, you in?" Kairi asked with a devilish smile. 

"Sure Riku and I will play, Right Riku?" Sora said looking up at me with his adorable little smile. 

I nodded.

"Okay. Let's start with you Sora, truth or dare?" Kairi said turning to Sora. 

Sora looked at Kairi, I could tell he was a little nervous but he put up a front. "Hmm I'm not scared I'll do a dare."

Kairi laughed as she thought up a dare for Sora. "Hmm... I've got one. Sora I dare you... to take Riku upstairs to your room."

Me? Alone with Sora? In his room?

I was a bit shocked by the dare. Why Kairi wanted him to do that was beyond me. Sora sat there thinking for a moment his face was flushed. I wondered if he was really going to accept Kairi's challenge.

"So what do you say Sora?" Kairi waited for his answer.

"I'll do it." Sora said standing up. He looked like he was about to fall over but he caught himself.

"Alright then. You guys have to stay up in Sora's room for a whole hour. I'll time you." Kairi winked at us and started a timer.

Sora grabbed my arm and pulled me up on my feet. He yanked at my arm repeatedly. I followed him upstairs to his room. His room was so much bigger than mines. Sora went to shut his door and sat on his bed.

"You can take a seat anywhere." He said.

I sat down beside him wondering what now. Do we just talk for an hour? This just seemed really awkward. Sora didn't say anything so once again I took the initiative to start up a conversation.

"Um I like your room. It looks cozy." I said looking around.

"Oh uh thanks. It is but I don't really get that much sleep."

"Why not?" I asked.

I continued looking around Sora's room. He had a lot of stuff. He was a collector. I kind of admired that. 

"Oh uh just some dreams that I've been having." Sora's face was completely red due to the alcohol in his bloodstream. He curled himself up into a little ball and hid his face.

"Nightmares?" I asked.

"Not exactly." Sora frowned.

I was a little concerned. I could tell that he hadn't ever drank before. I hadn't either but I felt fine. I was more so worried about him. I laid down on Sora's bed crossed my arms behind my head. "What kind of dreams?"

Sora lifted his head to look at me. Judging by the frown on his face I could tell he didn't want to talk about it. I stared up at the ceiling. Then I raised my eyebrow sort of bewildered.

"What is that?" I thought aloud.

Sora looked to see what I was talking about.

"That up there? It's a toy ship that I kept from when I was a kid. I've had it ever since I was little. It's childish I know but it's really important to me." Sora hiccuped and hid his face in his hands embarassed.

I sat there looking up at the toy ship that hung from Sora's ceiling. It had two dolls sitting in it, it was just like the one I had in my room. 

"Sora where did you get that?"

"I just told you, I had it since I was little." Sora explained.

"Hmm, I have one just like it." I told Sora.

"But that's impossible. You can only get them from the islands."

"I got mine from a friend I met a very long time ago." 

"What friend?" Sora asked. 

"I don't remember his name but it'll come back to me." I believed.

I looked at Sora who was still covering his face. I sat up and moved closer towards him.

"Sora quit hiding your face." I said.

"But I'm drunk and I look sloppy." Sora argued.

"No you don't. Now please move your hands." I pouted.

"No Riku, I'm ugly." Sora's bottom lip quivered and his shoulders dropped in resignation. His eyes began to wet with tears.

"You? No way."

Then I looked at Sora trying to be serious with him. "You could never look ugly."

I paused for a moment. "And you know what else? You never did tell me what you wanted to talk about that one day. I didn't forget about that you know."

Sora looked at me with a slight look of defeat and sighed. "Right...I'm sorry. I guess... now I'll tell you-" Sora took a deep breath before he continued to speak again.

"So... At my old school I used to get teased a lot by other kids. They teased me because of my shyness, because I was too smart, and because I looked too feminine. I was always bullied. People would call me gay and that never bothered me but they treated me terrible just because they thought I liked boys. The guys at my school used to spit on me, throw me against the lockers, and try to pick fights with me. But I never fought back. So I just got beaten up or jumped. I would come home with cuts, bruises, a bloody nose, a busted lip, and sometimes broken bones. Sometimes they would laugh in my face and force me up against the wall. They'd try touching me inappropriately and would say how I was a waste of the human race. They said I was big slut who probably got raped by my dad and turned into a homo. None of it was true. They left me with scars. Scars on my body and scars on my heart. My parents noticed the marks on my body after a while but they always sent me back. I was too afraid to tell them about the things they would do to me. I was scared what they would do to me if they found out I told them. But my parents didn't care anyway. No one ever like me. I didn't have friends in my old school and none of the teachers liked me as a student. No one was ever around to stick up for me. My own parents seemed like they hated me. I always figured they were ashamed of me and that's why they were never around. Honestly the only people I had were Roxas and Xion, but we had lost touch a long time ago when they moved away. I also had my two bestfriends Kairi and Tidus, that I've known since I was 4. But they didn't go to my school so they weren't around. Maybe if they were things could've been different. I also had another friend. A boy that I had met on the Islands, we were really close. But one day he just vanished. After that my dad got rich and could afford to put me in a better schooling system. And my friend Kairi and Tidus went there too. I wanted to start over, I wanted a clean slate. So I tried to forget about everything in my past. Even my most precious memories. I convinced myself that it was best for me to move on with my life. And for a while I was happy. But then, my dad got promoted and suddenly everything changed. We moved, I had to live in a new neighborhood, got to a new school, and leave my friends behind. I was terrified. I still am terrified. I never want anyone to treat me that way ever again." Sora sighed and continued to sob in his hands.

I didn't realize how hard Sora's life had been. It hurt me to learn about all of this. But I was happy he trusted me enough to tell me about his past. I moved his hands away from his face and gently stroked his face that was flowing with tears.

"Sora, one thing that I've learned from experience people are always going to judge you. I'm honestly really sorry that you went through all of that. I know what it's like. I've went through some similar stuff in my past too. I know it's hard to accept changes in your life but I promise Sora this change is good for you. No one here is going to care if you're gay or not. Hell, a lot of us are already gay. And now Roxas and Xion are back in your lives again and trust me they aren't going to go anywhere. We've all got your back. And if someone, so much as thinks about hurting you like that ever again tell me Sora and I'll handle it myself. And I wont hesitate to beat the shit out of them either. Listen Sora. You are safe with me, please believe me." I said ruffling Sora's pretty hair. Then I planted a small kiss on his forehead.

Sora blushed looking away from me.

"You really are adorable." I said leaning against Sora's face. I planted two more kisses on his red cheeks.

"S-stop it!" Sora said pushing me off.

"Sorry..." I said laying back down on Sora's bed.

"No it's fine." Sora said resting his head against my shoulder using it as a pillow. Soon Sora had passed out. I held the cute intoxicated boy in my arms and watched him sleep. He just looked so cute and innocent. I realized an hour had passed but instead of going back down to join the others I stayed upstairs looking after Sora. And after a while I had blacked out.

-the next morning-

I woke up in Sora's room. It took a few seconds for me to finally realize where I was and what had happened last night. I had a slight hangover but it wasn't too bad. I sat up and looked over at Sora who slept peacefully. He had curled up with his blanket and held onto a shadow plushie it was black with glowing yellow eyes. I leaned down and kissed his forehead. Sora was a light sleeper and apparently that was all it would take to wake him. Sora opened his eyes slowly, slowly remembering the night before. He stretched out his limbs in every direction and let out a small yawn.

"Good Morning Riku." Sora smiled.

"Good Morning Sora" I smiled back.

"Wow that was some party huh?" Sora was holding his head trying to somewhat soothe his headache.

"Yeah even though we were gone for most of it." I laughed. 

"Riku, I've been waiting a while to tell you this" Sora looked at me with a serious expression on his face.

"But first can I ask you something?"

"Of course, ask me anything." I waited for Sora's question.

"Yesterday you asked me about a toy ship. And you said that a friend of yours a long time ago gave you one just like mine. A long time ago, I met a boy on the Islands. He had silver hair just like yours. We used to play together all the time before he disappeared. But before that happened we became really close. And I bought him a present, I bought him a toy ship. It was meant to symbolize the bond we both shared. And I guess my question for you is this, when you look around my room do you see anything else that means anything to you?"

I took another look around Sora's room. In the corner of his room he had two wooden swords. I remembered how we used to always sword fight on the beach. And on one of the shelves was a jar full of seashells. We used to collect them together. And the blanket on Sora's bed it was the same one we slept on when we were kids.

The memories were flowing back to me one by one. I looked at Sora and saw the same boy that I remembered from childhood staring back at me. The same soft spikey brown hair. The same celestial blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. The same warm rosey cheeks. And the same pale white skin. It was really him. He had been right here in front of me all along. 

Tears began to escape my eyes and I covered my face with shaking hands. I mumbled incoherent things through my hands and choked on my sobs. Sora stared at me in complete shock. I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to speak but more and more poured out of me, it was a flood of uncontrollable tears. 

Sora wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck. His tears overflowed and spilled along his face. I took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears away. I lifted Sora's face and wiped his tear stained cheeks. Then I pushed him down against the bed. I laced his fingers with mine and I brought my face down to Sora's neck then I began to slowly trail kisses down his neck. His whole body tensed and shivered. Sora laid there letting the sensation of me touching him fully sink in. I brought my face up to his forehead and planted a small kiss there. Then I slowly moved lower down to his cheeks and I planted another small kiss there too. I wrapped my arms around Sora's small waist as I moved my lips a bit lower. 

"Sora...." I whisphered.

"Yes Riku." He whisphered back.

"Can...can I...please kiss you?" I asked as I gazed into his beautiful blue eyes.

Sora didn't say anything instead he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me closer which caused our lips to meet. As soon as I recovered from shock I placed my hand on either side of his face and leaned in to deepen the kiss. Sora moaned in pleasure and placed his hand partway through my hair and ran his fingers down gently. After a few seconds we came up for air. Sora and I panted from the kiss. I stared lovingly into Sora's eyes.

"Sora I can't believe that it's really you."

"Riku don't you ever leave me again." Sora pouted.

"Now that I've found you I'm not ever letting you go." I said melting Sora on the spot. 

I kissed his rose colored cheeks. Then I leaned down again pressing my lips against Sora's giving him another deep kiss. It started out as a simple kiss, then Sora had entered my mouth with his tongue. He tried to fight for dominance in my mouth but of course I won. Our tongues danced a rhythm only we knew. We finally pulled away leaving a trail of saliva connecting our lips. Sora blushed harder getting even redder if it was possible.

"You are so cute" I smiled softly as I began eyeballing Sora's soft lips. Our kisses tasted so sweet. I craved more and more. I started to lean in again but- *bang*

Just then Sora's door had violently flew open startling me. We both looked to see who had interrupted. It was Axel. He looked a bit shocked and confused. The image of me on top of Sora rattled his brain. Then he dared to speak.

"Oh shit sorry! Didn't know I was interrupting something." Axel apologized and backed out of the room.

"No Axel it's fine. Come back." I said pulling myself off of Sora. We both sat up and straightened ourselves out then quickly turned our attention to the redhead. 

"What's up?" I asked Axel.

"Well, you see, here's the thing. Roxas got really fucked up last night. We agreed we weren't gonna drink but I think that somebone must've slipped something in his drink. Xion and I were looking after him but now I have to take her and Sora's friends home. I was kinda hoping you could keep an eye on Rox for me while I'm gone?"

"Of course." I said.

"Wait- Kairi and Tidus can spend the night. But I think the others have to go home today." Sora said.

"Okay and Roxas is downstairs on the couch. He's asleep so just check on him. And you two play nice now. Don't go doing anything too crazy now." Axel teased as he left the room.

"Ignore him. He's always cracking stupid jokes." I said slightly embarassed.

"Its okay, my friends do the same things. I'm sort of used to it." Sora laughed. 

"Good, let's go see how Roxas is doing."

"Right."

Sora and I went downstairs and found Roxas laying on the couch. He did look fucked up. That would explain why Axel looked so pissed. 

"Hey bud you alright? You hungry?" I asked gently smacking Roxas on the shoulder to make sure he wasn't dead.

"...No thanks." Roxas groaned in pain.

Just then my tummy had made a rumbling noise. 

"Sora are you hungry? I'll make you something if you're hungry?" I said throwing the idea out there.

"Actually I am." He said holding his tummy. 

"Good I'll go make us something then." I said walking to the kitchen and Sora followed behind me.

"What do you wanna eat?" I asked while lurking through the kitchen cabinets.

"Whatever you wanna make me is fine." Sora told me as he sat down at the table.

I made Sora two sunny side up eggs and two strips of bacon. Together it formed a smiley face, I knew Sora would like that.

"Here you go Sora." I said placing his plate on the table in front of him.

"Yay I'm starved" He said rubbing his tummy.

"Riku this is sooooo cute!" Sora squealed.

"You're cuter!" 

Sora's face reddened. Then he started dogging down his plate until he was left completely satisfied. I made myself a sandwich and ate it.


	12. XII. Sora's Party Pt.4 The Aftermath

After I had a bite to eat, Sora and I went to the living room. Roxas was still lieing on the couch trying to sleep. He was buried underneath a few blankets. I sat down on the other couch with Sora. I wrapped an arm around him. Then he leaned his head against my shoulder and shifted a little getting comfortable. I buried my face in Sora's soft spikey hair and enjoyed being beside him. We sat there and watched Roxas who had started to wiggle around under the blankets. 

After a few seconds had passed he gave up realizing he couldn't sleep and trying to was useless. Roxas shoved the blankets off causing them to falll onto the floor. He rubbed his eyes blinking a few times. He rubbed circles on his forehead trying to soothe his headache. Roxas sat up slowly, groaning from the pain. He looked up, glancing at us for a moment. He cleared his throat and the first words that came out of his mouth were

"What the fuck happened to you guys last night?"

I looked at him a little confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Riku. You know what I'm talking about." Roxas growled holding his head.

"You and Sora both disappeared last night and no one could find you in this big fucking house!" He yelled.

I gulped, not really knowing what to say back. I didn't know anyone was looking for us. Why didn't they just call or text me? I pulled my phone out to check it and realized it was dead. Oh, well my bad.

"I assume you both were together? So did you guys finally go and fuck or something?" Roxas smirked.

"Roxas, c'mon chill the fuck out. What's the matter with you? And what do you even care?" I said, feeling slightly annoyed.

"I don't. But I take it that I'm right? You guys did go fuck after all!? Probably blew eachother too. Just couldn't keep it in your pants huh Riku? Sora really gets you that hot and bothered? Oh well, atleast you finally got laid." Roxas joked.

My face grew redder with embarrassment. 

"Roxas, shut up! We weren't doing that. So just shut the fuck up!" I yelled at him. I was getting pissed. My head started pounding.

"Ok ok, calm your ass down. I was joking anyways." Roxas snickered.

He took one look at us and let out a small chuckle. "But y'know Riku, a little birdy told me they saw you on top of S-"

"Roxas!!!!!" I shouted cutting him off mid sentence. I was about to tell him to fuck off, when I heard Sora say something.

"We made out....Nothing else happened. We just kissed. Then it was over. That's it. It's no big deal." Sora mumbled.

"No big deal?" I asked, feeling slightly offended.

A blush spread across Sora's face. "Riku... no...no. That's not what I meant at all."

"Sora it's fine...I just..."

Before I could finish, Sora had pulled me closer, by gripping the collar of my shirt and he closed the gap between us without warning. My eyes widened in suprise. That damned kiss. It was a long one. A long deep kiss that made me forget what I was going to say.

"Riku, I like you... a lot. Please don't misunderstand me."

I nodded only because I was too shocked to form any words. I wrapped both arms around Sora's waist and pulled him closer kissing him back. Sora stretched his hands over the sides of my face and held them there as we kissed. I found myself not caring who watched us. Let them stare. Let them all stare. I wanted everyone to know that Sora was mines. I wasn't ever going to let him go. And I was going to ask him sooner or later to be my boyfriend but I wanted it to be romantic and special when I did. This party didn't exactly give off the right vibe and dealing with a bunch of crazy angst teens with hangovers wasn't my idea of romantic. 

I quickly pinned Sora against the nearest wall and wrapped one of Sora's leg around my waist without thinking about it. I moved from Sora's face to Sora's neck kissing and biting it. Sora muffled sounds of pleasure and placed his hands on top of my head. He closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation. We had completely forgotten about Roxas who was just watching us like he was some kind of pervert. I moved from Sora's neck to his collarbone and trailed kissed down finally stopping once I reached his shirt. Sora tensed and shivered. I placed a finger at the bottom of his throat and slowly rose it higher stopping when it was over the cute boys lips. I removed my finger and replaced it with my tongue. I licked Sora's lips softly and forced my tongue through. I licked his teeth and continued until I had entered Sora's mouth. Once inside my tongue poked around exploring it's new territory. Sora moaned and his tongue licked mines. For a few seconds our tongues fought and wrapped around each other. Once we pulled away for air there was a trail of saliva connecting our lips. Sora's face was redder and hotter. I gazed into his eyes. I wanted him so badly but now wasn't right. 

I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me from behind followed by a voice that startled both Sora and I.

"Whooooa Jesus, calm down guys! Did you forget that I'm still here?" Roxas said scratching the back of his head. 

Sora looked down and hid his face with his hands. He hauled ass towards the stairs.

"I-uh.. I.. I'm g-going to go.. look for my friends... I...I'll b-be back..." Sora attempted to say through the slits in his fingers but his voice was trembling. 

I sighed as I took my phone out and plugged it up to my phone charger. I left it on the table and sat over on the couch while Roxas sat back down on the other couch. He turned to me with a slight grin.

"You guys are seriously cute. I told you I ship it!" Roxas chuckled.

"You are unbelieveable!" I said crossing my arms.

"What!? What did I do?" Roxas whined.

"Really? Did you really have to go and ask Sora and me, if we fucked yet?"

"Well you could have, how would I fucking know?

"No, because I wouldn't have." I said slightly annoyed.

"Could have fooled me. Looked like you were about to do it just a minute ago and why not? Aren't you attracted to him?"

"Of course but we're not even dating yet."

"So! Well I don't know what your relationship with him even is...and maybe Sora wanted you to fuck him last night!" Roxas hissed.

"I'm not trying to rush things and everything doesn't have to be about sex." I rolled my eyes.

"No but Riku you do remember that you're still a virgin right?" Roxas teased.

"Which is exactly why I'm not rushing it."

"So is Sora a virgin?" Roxas asked leaning back on the couch.

"I dont know and I'm not gonna ask him that. I'm sure he'd tell me if we ever did anything."

Roxas sure was something else. He didn't care if he made us comfortable or not. He was outspoken. He got that shit from Axel.

"So Riku, you're telling me that if Sora sat on your pretty little lap and begged you to fuck him, you wouldn't do it? Pssh...Fucking liar!" Roxas laughed so hard he almost fell off the couch.

"Shut up... you and Axel are perverts!"

"Yeah you're right. We are perverts! Cause we have SEX! Alllllllll the time!"

"I don't want to hear about you and Axel's sex lives. I could care less."

"Dont worry you'll have one soon."

I ignored Roxas, he was getting on my last nerves. He was lucky he was my bestfriend. That was the only reason why I even put up with his foolishness. I sighed and laid down on the couch wondering what was taking Sora so long. Where are Kairi and Tidus? I hope everything's ok. 

I grabbed my phone off the table and texted him just to make sure everything was okay. I had no idea where he could be. Not in this huge house.

Hey everything ok? 

Yeah I haven't found them  
yet but...

But?

There's some other people  
here passed out on the floor.

Where are you?

I'll come to you.

Ok.

~

While Riku was downstairs with Roxas, Sora had been looking around trying to find his bestfriends but was unsuccessful. He came across two teens instead. They looked like they had been drinking. The first teen was a girl. She had long blonde hair, her skin was fairly pale and she was wearing a white dress. The teen beside her was a boy, he had spikey black hair, exactly like Sora's, his skin was also pale. They both weren't responsive. Sora didn't want to just leave them there but there was no way he could lift both of them. He needed some help. Just then he heard his phone vibrate. Sora went searching through his pockets and pulled out his phone. Riku texted. It seemed he was worried. Sora told them about the teens he found and told him to wait for him. Sora picked up the girl and took her downstairs to the living room and laid her on the couch. Riku and Roxas were stunned. 

"There's a boy upstairs passed out on the floor, I can't quite lift him I'm gonna need your help Riku." 

"Coming Sora." 

Sora brought Riku to the boy. Riku picked him up and carried him down the stairs. He laid him down on the couch next to the girl.

"They're gonna have one hell of a hangover when they get up." Roxas said holding his stomach.

He leaned to the side of the couch grabbing a bag and threw up in it.

"That's disgusting."

"Kairi? Tidus?" Said Sora recognizing his friends.

Everyone looked up to see Kairi and Tidus who had finally shown up.

"Hey where were you? We were looking for you?" Sora complained.

"Oh, that's not really important...but we're fine. " Kairi said. 

"Who are they..?" Tidus asked.

"Don't know, Axel should know them since he invited them. Guess we have to wait til he gets back or one of them wakes up." Sora suggested.

"Well now we have three people we gotta babysit." Riku laughed.

"Hey I don't need a babysitter!" Roxas groaned.

"Do too. You look like shit!" Riku teased.

"Man, when I find out who ever did this..." Roxas groaned. 

"I'll go get you some pain reliever. And you need to eat and drink something." Riku said.

Once Riku came back he gave Roxas some pain reliever and a water bottle. He set a plate of toast down on the table for when Roxas got hungry. He also handed a bottle of water to Sora and told him to drink it. Sora took it. He turned to his friends Kairi and Tidus who had sat on the floor and talked to each other about the party last night. Riku got up and went to the front door, he grabbed his jacket putting it on. Sora had followed him and asked in a soft voice "Riku, are you leaving?"

Riku turned to the brunette who looked soft and sad to see the silverette go.

"I'll be back later." Riku said petting Sora's head.

"When I get back Sora I'd like to take you out on a date." Riku said giving him a sweet smile.

"A date? Really? That sounds like fun." Sora's eyes twinkled with happiness.

"It will be fun. I'll pick you up tonight at 7." Riku said sweeping the brunette off of his feet before claiming his lips in a sweet tender kiss.

The brunette smiled at him sweetly and then the silverette turned away to leave. After Riku left, Sora went back into the living room. Roxas was laying on the couch texting his boyfriend. Kairi and Tidus were still talking. Sora sat on the floor next to his two bestfriends who he hadn't gotten to spend much time with.

~Sora's POV~

I sat on the floor crossed legged next to my two bestfriends. Once they noticed me come up to them and sit then they stopped talking and turned to me. 

My stomach suddenly started to hurt and my head started pounding. Kairi looked at me with a bit of worry in her eyes.

"Sora, you don't look so good? Maybe you should go lie down?" Kairi said placing her hand on my forehead. 

"You're burning up." She stood up on her feet and looked over at Tidus.

Tidus stood up and grabbed my arm. He slung my arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me up on my feet.

"C'mon you're going to go lie down." Tidus said.

Tidus helped me walk to my room while Kairi walked ahead of us. Once we made it up the stairs and into my room Tidus laid me down on my bed gently. They both kept a close eye on me. I took a large sip from the bottle of water Riku gave me. I could feel my bestfriends staring. 

"Hey Sora?" Kairi said.

"Hnnm?" 

"What happened? Y'know last night with Riku?" Kairi asked.

"Ohh uhm, well-"

[Skip to after Sora tells them because it's too long and i don't want to put all of it in here. We already know what happened up to this point. He's just filling them in.]

"Anyways, Riku wants to take me out on a date tonight."

"Really Sora! I'm so happy for you. Riku seems nice." Kairi smiled. She was genuinely happy for me. 

I looked down at my phone to see what time it was. 4:19pm. My date with Riku was less than 3 hours away. Just then I had got a text from Roxas saying to come downstairs because Axel's home.

"Roxas needs me so I'll be right back. I've got video games, a TV, a laptop, you guys do whatever you want til I get back." I said leaving my room.

I walked downstairs to the living room to find Axel there. He was holding Roxas on his lap. Roxas seemed to be feeling slightly better now that his boyfriend was home but still looked a mess. The boy and girl that I had found passed out in the hallway earlier were moving around. Were they finally waking up? The girl stretched and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Where am I...?" She said in a drowsy tired voice. She noticed Roxas, Axel, and I but hadn't noticed her friend. 

"My house. I found you passed out somewhere upstairs and I brought you down here to rest. You okay?" I asked her.

"Oh... right. The party. The last thing I remember was I was playing truth or dare with Vanitas." She said rubbing her head.

"Vanitas?" We all asked. 

"Yeah, he's my friend. Right... I'm sorry. I'm Namine." She said.

"Hi Namine! I'm Sora, that's Roxas and Axel." I said pointing to them.

The girl in the white dress smiled and covered her mouth with her hand then chuckled.

"Hi Sora, Roxas, and Axel." Said Namine.

"Have you seen my friend Vanitas?" Namine asked looking slightly worried.

"Huh? You mean him?" I said pointing to the black haired boy laying beside her.

Namine looked at him and jumped up in a slight shock.  
"Oh uh, yes that's Vanitas. I didn't see him there before. That's my bad."

Namine shook her friends arm trying to wake him. Once he woke, he opened his eyes to reveal their glowing yellow appearance. He looked past Namine, his eyes stopping once they met the blue eyes of a blonde spikey haired boy.

"There you are Ventus!" Said Vanitas.

"Ventus?" Roxas said looking a bit perplexed.

"Who the hell is Ventus? I'm Roxas!"

"Oh, sorry. You look like somebody else I know. Guess I poisoned the wrong guy." Vanitas sneered.

"Wait, so you're the one that did this to me!!" Roxas shouted.

"That's what I just said didn't I?" Vanitas smirked. 

He also laughed which made Roxas even more pissed.

"Is that supposed to be a joke? Cause I'm not laughing!" Roxas picked up Oathkeeper and Oblivion, two limited edition weapons that were designed to look like keys. They were made of scrap metal and they were known as Keyblades. I got them from a squenix souvenir shop many years ago.

Roxas held one in each hand like he was about to clank Vanitas upside the head with them.

"Calm down Roxas. What are you crazy?" I said grabbing the keyblades from his hands. Roxas tried grabbing the keyblades from me. It was like playing a game of tug of war. I finally let go and he fell back with them in his hand and landed on top of Axel. Axel snatched the keyblades from Roxas's hands and put them back. 

Namine look embarassed for her friend.

"Well, thank you for inviting to your party. It was fun but I think we should be going now." Namine said pulling Vanitas out with her. 

I sighed once they had left. Namine was really nice but Vanitas just seemed mean. I couldn't see why Namine would want to hang around with a jerk like him.

"I don't like that guy!" Roxas scoffed.

"Neither do I, but don't get yourself so worked up over it" Axel said while petting his boyfriend.

"He just ticks me off." Roxas howled.

"There there, you'll forget about him soon enough." Axel's hands moved down lower and stopped once they were on top of Roxas's thigh.

"A..aagh..Axel..." Roxas moaned.

Axel smiled into his boyfriends eyes seductively before picking him up bridal style.

"Bye Sora." He said, carrying Roxas outside.

After the two lovebirds left I went back upstairs to see what my bestfriends were up to. They were playing video games. I sat on my bed dying of complete boredom. I stared at my phone hoping I would get a text from Riku. I was beginning to really miss him. I wondered what Riku had planned for our date. It was almost time but I still could hardly wait. I just wanted to see him.


	13. XIII. Paopu Date

-an hour later-

Sora was lying in bed struggling to keep his eyes open. He had been waiting and waiting and waiting. Waiting for a text from Riku to show up any minute now. Sora was completely bored out of his mind. But it was his own fault. He could've joined his friends and just played video games with them while he waited but he didn't. It wouldn't be fun to him. It wasn't like he could concentrate on anything else anyway. And he didn't want to lose or give them a reason to start teasing him. The three of them were super competitive at everything especially video games. Sora had just preferred to sit around and wait. The only thing that mattered to him at that moment was his date with Riku. 

And Riku was just as excited as Sora was. He couldn't believe that after all this time he finally had the chance to take Sora on a date.

After Sora and Riku parted ways, Riku planned for the date ahead of time. He had thought of everything. Where he wanted to take Sora, what him and Sora would do together, and what the two of them would talk about. Everything. It had to be perfect. He wouldn't settle for less. He really wanted to impress his date. He wanted to give him the best night of his life. 

Once Riku got home he took off his clothes and turned on the shower. He brought his phone with him and texted Sora.

R: Hey Sora  
Sent 6:31

S: Hey Riku  
Sent 6:33

R: Doing anything tonight?  
Sent 6:36

S: Yeah going out with you   
stupid!!!  
Sent 6:37 PM

R: Good I was just making sure   
you remembered our date. I'm   
getting ready right now. I'll be  
there in about 20 minutes to   
pick you up. See you soon.  
Sent 6:40 PM

S: Okay Riku. I'll see you   
real soon.  
Sent 6:40 PM

~

After reading that last text Riku set his phone down somewhere and took his shower. Once he was finished he dried off with a towel, put on deodorant, put on clean clothes, brushed his teeth, brushed his hair, and put on body spray. He went to grab a small gift bag from off his sofa and walked outside to his car. He opened the car doors and placed the small gift bag in the backseat. Then he got in the driver's seat of the car and drove to Sora's house.

~

"Riku! Riku's coming!" Sora shrieked with joy as he rushed out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his tiny slim waist. 

Sora was standing in between two sliding doors that lead him into his walk in closet. All of his jackets, sweaters, blazers, cardigans, v-necks, tanks, shirts, skinny jeans, shorts, sweatpants, pants and jumpsuits were all color coordinated and hanging from red hangers. And all of his hats, gloves, wristbands, belts, chains, necklaces, earrings, rings, and other accessories were neatly tucked away and placed on the shelves. His eyes skimmed over everything he owned in his closet (which was a lot) but he still didn't know what to wear. Part of the reason was because he didn't know where Riku was taking him. He didn't want to ask and ruin the suprise but he didn't know what Riku wanted him to wear. Sora texted Riku to ask him what he should wear. Riku responded back to Sora saying 

"Anything you want Sora but if you need help choosing something...then go with something simple and casual like a tank with some jogger shorts."

Thanks to Riku, Sora finally decided on an outfit to wear. Once he was all dressed he stood in front of his mirror and fixed his hair spiking it up even more. Then he glanced over at his alarm clock on his nightstand to see what time it was. It was 5 minutes til 7. Sora placed his phone inside his pocket and ran downstairs. He passed by Kairi and Tidus on the way out. He waved to them saying "Bye." 

He opened the front door and was shocked to see Riku standing in the doorway. His face turned red and he fumbled for words.

"Riku...I.. uh... you're here... I... um... hi" Sora stammered.

Riku gazed at the brunette. A light blush ran along his face and his lips curved slightly creating a warm loving smile. Riku reached down and grabbed Sora's hand. Placing a warm but soft and gentle kiss against Sora's palm before he laced their fingers together.

~Sora's POV~

Riku and I were holding hands the same way that couples do. And we were walking closely together. So close. It was a little cold and windy but not too bad. We continued walking together side by side and hand in hand until we got to Riku's car. Riku walked over to the passengers seat of the car and opened the door for me. I smiled at him and before I could sit down a small gust of wind blew. It blew in the direction that Riku was facing and it had momentarily pushed some of his own hair out of his face. I gazed into Riku's pretty eyes. Then my eyes skimmed over his beautiful face. My smile changed into that of a more loving one. I was completely enamored by Riku. I was unable to tear my gaze away.

Riku. You are. You're just. I'm just going to say it. It must be said. You are just perfect. How? How on earth can someone be so extraordinarily beautiful?

Once I realized that Riku had caught me staring at him my face reddened. I sat down in the passengers seat buckling my seat belt and Riku shut the door. He walked around to the other side and opened the car door and sat down and shut the door. He buckled his seat belt, started the car, looked to see if anyone was there, and then started to drive off. Once the redness in my face was gone I turned to Riku. 

"So where are we going?"

Riku took his eyes of the road for a quick second to say "You'll see."

I wondered why he was keeping it a secret.

As I sat in Riku's car I took deep breaths because I was nervous. This would be the first time anyone has ever taken me out on an actual date. I just wanted it to go well. And I hoped with all my heart that after this Riku would still want to be around me. He promised he would always be around but that promise was 12 years ago. Who knew how Riku felt about that promise now.

I took another deep breath inhaling and exhaling through my nose. I breathed in an unfamiliar scent. Was it Riku's? I thought it could be Riku's. I turned to Riku and leaned in a bit closer sniffing around his neck. His scent overriding my sense of smell. It is you Riku. 

Riku smelled heavenly, like sun kissed citrus and salt air, with a warm touch of coconut vanilla. His scent captured the essence of the ocean and a warm sunny day at the beach. I was in love.

"Riku you smell so good."

Riku smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Sora. We're here. Close your eyes." Riku said as he gently patted my head.

"Huh?" I said undoing my seat belt buckle. I closed my eyes just like he said.

I heard Riku unbuckle his seat belt and get out of the car. He walked over to the other side where I was sitting and opened the door. He reached out his hand and grabbed mine. He pulled me out of the car and walked with me while still holding onto my hand. I was surprised. didn't know what was happening.

"Riku when can I open my eyes?" 

I followed Riku's lead for a while until he finally let go of my hand.

"Now Sora. You can open them now."

When I opened up my eyes the first thing I noticed was that Riku and I were standing on a deserted beach. It was just the two of us alone, along the sandy shores of Twilight Town. I was surprised to even learn that Twilight Town had a beach. Before I could say anything Riku lifted a finger and pointed to something behind me. I slowly turned around to see what he was pointing at. What I saw behind me made me speechless. I was at a complete loss for words. Riku you're the most amazing person ever. Did you do all of this for me?

Riku had set up the most adorable picnic for two that I have ever seen. There were two large blankets and a couple smaller ones stretched across the sand with a bunch of pillows around making it comfortable to lay on. There was rose petals sprinkled everywhere especially in the center that were in the shape of a heart. The area was also well lit with lanterns. And there was a picnic basket nearby. My heart just turned to mush, a big gooey mess. And my legs felt like rubber. 

"Riku oh my god... this is sooooo cute!!!!"

Riku chuckled and his smile grew.

I wanted to kiss him so badly but I was shy again. I know I technically already kissed him a few times but I did have alcohol in my system and a hangover all those times. The alcohol made it much easier for me to act on my feelings without fear or doubt but sober I still had those feelings. 

Riku and I sat down. I was still in shock but I was enjoying being in the moment. Riku opened up the picnic basket and pulled out a couple of finger foods. 

"I hope you brought your appetite with you." Riku said as he picked up a cluster of grapes. 

Riku took a single grape and held it up to my lips. I opened my mouth letting Riku feed it to me. I bit into the grape and chewed softly letting it's sweet sugary cotton candy like flavor linger around in my mouth a bit. Then I blushed over the fact that Riku was feeding me. He fed me a few more before I grabbed one myself and fed it to him. I watched him bite into the grape and chew it before finally swallowing it down. He turned to me before satisfyingly saying "Mmm that's delicious."

We took turns feeding each other until we were almost stuffed. Then we went for a romantic walk along the beach. We held hands together and we just talked. It was like old times again. I was falling more and more in love with Riku as each minute rolled by. 

Riku and I had walked back to his car. I felt a little sad. Was our date over? I didn't want it to end yet. Riku opened the car door and grabbed something off the back seat and handed it to me.

"What's this?"

"Something for you. Look inside."

I reached inside of a small gift bag that Riku had handed to me. I pulled out some gift wrap paper that was in the way and I pulled something out. My face instantly lit up. It was a plush. I loved plushies. I didn't know what the heck it was supposed to be but it was so cute and I loved it. 

"Riku what is this? It's so cute!" I said squeezing the plush.

"It's supposed to be a nobody. A dusk plushie. They're popular in Twilight Town. I know you like your plushies so I had to get it for you."

"I love it. I love it. I love it so much Riku!" I smiled big like a huge idiot. 

"That's not all. There's something else for you in there." Riku chuckled.

"Really?"

I reached back and grabbed something squishy. It felt like another plushie. I pulled it out and almost screamed.

"Aaahhhh Riku! A meow wow dreameater plushie!!!" I jumped with joy. I had been trying to get my hands on this for such a long time.

Riku smiled at me being a dork and came over and wrapped his arms around me and held me.

Oh Riku. You're such an angel. This is the best night of my life and the best date ever. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around Riku holding him close. I could see myself in his arms forever. After a while he pulled away. I set my stuff in Riku's car and shut the door. 

We headed back to our spot on the beach and layed by the shore. I closed my eyes taking in how the water feels in between my toes, how the sand feels when I run my fingers through, the breeze blowing across my face and through my hair. I opened my eyes and looked up at the midnight blue colored sky. The stars twinkled and shined bright like diamonds hovering above us and the clouds danced and swirled all around. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was so peaceful and so relaxing here.

"Sora look!"

Riku pointed to something in the sky. I couldn't believe it, a shooting star. The night was magical and had been packed full of surprises. I closed my eyes and quickly made a wish. I already knew just what I wanted. 

"Sora. I have one more thing that I want to give you." Riku said reaching down below.

My eyes widened in suprise. I turned to face him. His pretty silver-grey hair fluttering in the wind. 

"What's that Rik-" I paused when I saw what he pulled out. 

Riku held a paopu fruit in his hand.

"I don't know if you remember but a long time ago you held onto a paopu fruit. It was kind of like this one. You wanted to share one. And you told me that you wanted to be a part of my life forever, no matter what. Sora." Riku paused and twirled his finger through my hair. 

My heart was pounding.

Riku closed his eyes and let his heart do the talking.

"I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. I want to have dates like this with you all the time. I never want to lose you again."

Riku opened his eyes staring into my bright blue ones.

"I...I love you... Sora."

My first thought was am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. This is all too perfect. I must be dreaming right? Whether any of it was real or not I looked into Riku's sea foam green eyes and said "I love you too Riku."

He took half of the paopu fruit and fed it to me and I fed him the other half. After sharing a paopu together we realized it was getting very late. We started heading back to the car. Riku packed up everything he brought for our date and put it in the trunk of his car. Then once again walked over to my side of the car and opened the car door for me. I got in the car and buckled up. He shut the door and walked over to his side. I couldn't believe how much of a gentleman Riku was. He charmed the pants off of me all night long. The date was finally coming to an end though that was the saddest part. Riku got in the car and shut the door. He buckled himself in and started to drive me home. When we got to my house Riku got out of the car and rushed to the other side to let me out. I grabbed my bag with the gifts Riku got me. Riku held my other hand in his as we walked in tandem to the front door. 

Once we got to my doorstep Riku got down on one knee. First I thought he had dropped something on the ground but then he suddenly reached over and grabbed my hand. My eyes widened with curiousity.

"Sora... Will you... Will you be my boyfriend?" 

For some reason when I heard those softly spoken words leave Riku's mouth my heart felt like it had stopped. It felt like something in me had suddenly died and was reborn. I looked down into Riku's eyes. Inside them was a spark, a fire that I've never seen before. Tears began to flow heavily down my face. And I muffled to him my answer in sobs. "Yes..." 

Riku stood up. He walked up to me slowly and pulled me closer wrapping his arms around me. His embrace was warm, and his big strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around my frail body. His hug was strong, stronger than anything I've ever known. My stomach fluttered at the feeling of his body pressed against mine. The world around me melted away as I squeezed him back not wanting the moment to end. I held onto Riku tighter. Tighter than anything I've ever held onto in my entire life. As if holding me wasn't enough, you had to feel every ounce that I am press into every ounce that is you. And if it was possible I would stay in yours arms forever Riku. If it was okay, and if it's what you wanted too, I'd let you wrap your arms around me every chance the universe is kind enough to bring. 

After being hugged and squeezed mercilessly by Riku, I finally was the one to pull away. I heard Riku mumble the words "I love you."

His face was so close to mine and then without any kind of warning his tongue was in my mouth. I had merely wished to look at his face but I didn't even catch a glimpse, so instantaneous and urgent was that tongue. It all but overpowered my senses as it sought after some unreachable terminus near my uvula. His tongue wiggled, pulsated, and made contortive sweeps of my mouth's gaping hole. When Riku finally pulled our lips apart I could still taste the warmth and thickness of his saliva. Riku and I both panted from the intense kiss and my cheeks were tinged with red. Once I caught my breath I stared deeply at Riku, who was now my boyfriend, and I didn't want him to go. 

"Riku please don't go."


	14. XIV. Soulmates

Riku's heart nearly sank when he'd gazed into Sora's eyes. Sadness and loneliness showed through and it was as if they were pleading him not to go. He didn't want to leave but he knew he couldn't stay.

"But what about your friends?"

His friends? Sora had forgotten they were even there. He was so hung up on Riku that he had forgotten all about them.

"I don't want to be in the way. Besides you should spend some time with them before they have to go home tomorrow."

Sora hated to admit it but Riku was right. He hadn't really spent any time with them since they had shown up and he wouldn't see them again until the summer. He couldn't help feeling sad. He wanted to spend more time with Riku. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask him. They clearly had a lot to catch up on. 12 years was a long time and even though it's been over a decade the feelings were still going strong. Sora and Riku were soulmates, bound together, their hearts always connected, in tune with each other and free to sing. 

Sora placed both arms behind his back and rocked back and forth. He puffed out his lower lip as he looked up at Riku. Riku chuckled lightly then grabbed Sora's cheeks in his hand and squished them between his thumb and pointer finger. It made his lips stick up in such a way that it made him look like a fish. Riku laughed at Sora's face, he was so cute with his fishy lips. Sora laughed too and Riku finally let go. When the laughing had stopped Sora had resumed his pouty behavior.

"Riku… can you atleast just stay for a little while?"

"Okay but only for a little while." Riku said.

A huge grin crept on Sora's face. 

Riku leaned down to pick up Sora's bag as they both headed inside. They walked in to find Kairi and Tidus sitting adjacent on the couch. Kairi's face became cherry red when she noticed Sora and Riku had appeared in the living room.

"Hey guys. We're back." Sora said sitting on the other couch. Riku set Sora's gift bag on the table and sat down on the couch beside him. He reached down to hold his hand, their fingers were laced together. Kairi noticed.

"So I'm guessing that your date went well?" Kairi smiled seeing the two of them openly together like this. She knew how much Sora cared for Riku. She could tell that Sora really loved him. He made him feel safe and the thought of Sora finally feeling one hundred percent safe with someone made her feel calm.

"Yeah. It was great, it was a lot of fun." 

"Good."

"So what have you guys been up to?"

When Sora asked, he noticed the red color returning to Kairi's cheeks. He wondered what was wrong with her. Kairi began to panic.

"N-nothing. Yeah Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" Kairi turned away, slightly embarrassed but Sora didn't pester her with any more questions.

"I see… " Sora said.

Sora removed his hand from Riku's grasp and sat forward. He grabbed the gift bag off the table and stood up.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go put this away. Riku... would you mind coming with me?"

"Sure." Riku got up and followed Sora upstairs to his room. Once inside Sora shut the door and looked at Riku wide-eyed.

"Something is up with them. Kairi is acting weird and Tidus hasn't said a word this whole time. What do you think is going on?" Sora placed his hand on his chin and was deep in thought.

Riku had no idea what was going on with Sora's friends but honestly he would rather just stay out of it. 

"I don't know. Maybe you should just ask Kairi"

As soon as Riku had mentioned Kairi there was a knock at Sora's bedroom door. Sora opened it and they were both surprised to see Kairi standing there. Before Sora could even ask, Kairi had begun talking. 

"Sora, I don't think I can stay tonight. I forgot I have so much schoolwork I have to do this weekend. But maybe another time."

Kairi grabbed her bag off of Sora's chair, the one she had brought with her for their sleepover and walked out of the room. Sora was confused but gave her a small nod before she left the room. She was clearly hiding something. He wanted to know what was going on. When Sora and Riku went downstairs Tidus was also making his way out the front door. He didn't say goodbye though. In fact he hadn't said a single word since they got back from their date. Sora texted Tidus to find out where he was going. He got a text back almost ten seconds later.

*Sorry gotta go. Wish I could stay but dad wants me back tonight.*

Sora wondered if he was telling him the truth but he didn't want to accuse his friend of lying. So he just wrote back *That sucks. Take care man.*

Sora put his phone away. He wanted to find out what was really going on but then he realized that he and Riku were alone now.

"Guess it's just you and me now Riku."

"Guess so." Riku smiled and leaned in to kiss Sora on the lips.

Sora moaned as he deepened the kiss. He felt his whole body shiver and his toes began to curl. Every kiss was perfect and Riku's lips were so soft, juicy, and tender to the touch. Sora had never kissed anyone, just Riku, no one else but somehow he just knew that Riku was an insanely good kisser. He couldn't get enough of it. He loved every kiss Riku placed on him, didn't matter where. Riku pulled away from Sora before he got carried away. They straightened themselves out, both boys blushing like crazy.

Words flew out of Riku's mouth before he even had time to think about what he was saying.  
"Sora. Come stay with me." 

Sora gasped and Riku's sudden outburst.

"I… I can't do that I…"

Riku silenced him by placing his finger on Sora's lips.

"Yeah I know… sorry that just slipped out." A blush creeped up Riku's face.

Sora moved Riku's finger so he could talk again. "I'm not saying no because I don't want to… I just can't right now."

"How about you come over and just spend one night with me then?" Riku asked with an innocent look on his face.

"One night… okay." Sora could feel the heat rising to his face.

Sora packed some of his things, just enough to stay at Riku's for one night. Riku brought Sora's bag out to his car and put it in the trunk then they both got in and drove to Riku's place. Sora was excited to see where Riku stayed and to stay with him for one night. He was also nervous. He was always nervous when he was all alone with Riku. Riku had more opportunities to kiss him, to flirt and what not and every time Sora could barely handle what Riku threw at him. But at the same time he felt safe, especially when Riku held him. He couldn't wait for Riku to just hold him many more times. It was the best feeling in the world and he craved it more than anything. Sora was lost in his thoughts for a while until they had finally gotten to Riku's house. 

"We're here." Riku said, opening his car door. He rushed over to let Sora out and he held his hand as they walked all the way up to the front door or Riku's home. Riku got out his house keys and opened the door. A waft of cold air greeted them when they stepped inside.

"Make yourself at home" Riku said as he went to his room to change into some comfier clothes.

Sora waited for him in the living room. He sat on the sofa and laid back letting himself fully sink into it. It was comfy and Sora was so relaxed. When Riku came back he saw Sora and was pleased to see he had been enjoying himself. Sora noticed Riku had returned and asked him where the bathroom was. Riku gave Sora directions on where to find it and he wound up in the right room. He took off his bag and set it down and opened it. He grabbed his pajamas. He took off his clothes and put them on. Then he glanced at himself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. Riku was outside the door waiting for him. He followed Riku to his room. Riku turned on the light and patted down his bed looking for his TV remote. Once he found it he turned on the tv, using it as a source of light once he had turned off his room light. Riku laid down on his bed in a half sitting up position. Sora was next to him lying on his side. He'd curled up against him. It was really late but he had no desire to sleep. He wondered if Riku was tired. Riku was a little bit. 

He felt Sora's arm wrap around him as he pressed his head into his neck. Riku wrapped an arm around Sora. He always wanted to try this. When he was 5, he and Sora had slept together plenty of times. But they'd never snuggled. He loved snuggling Sora like this. 

He wished he had the courage to do it when they were kids. But the only things they did was hug and hold hands. This was a whole new feeling and it made Riku feel warm inside. A warmth he never knew he'd needed. 

Sora on the other hand felt safe and protected. He felt so relaxed. Everything was suddenly so peaceful. It was as if all his troubles had melted away and turned to nothingness. Sora and Riku closed their eyes and just enjoyed each other's loving affections. Neither of them wanted to sleep yet but eventually they had succumbed to it.

After sleep had overtaken their senses, Riku was the first to awaken. Sora woke up about an hour later. He himself was a light sleeper but he didn't notice it when Riku had wrapped a warm blanket around him. He balled up his hands into fists and stretched his arms out drastically wide before he opened his mouth to yawn. It lasted for about eight seconds leaving him breathless. Once he caught his breath he sat upright and slid the blanket off of him. He shifted himself so he was sitting at the edge of the bed and he blinked a few times. It took him a minute to wake up fully. He stepped out of bed and walked slowly to the door rubbing the crusts from his under his eyes. He opened the door and could immediately smell something good coming from the kitchen. Riku made breakfast. 

Riku noticed Sora right away and he blushed. "Good Morning Babe." 

Sora was shocked to hear Riku calling him babe. It caught him by surprise. It took Sora a moment to process that. It would take some time getting used to but he loved that Riku would be calling him babe and baby from now on. It made his heart flutter and his stomach turn in a good way.

"Good Morning Baby" Sora said back which actually made Riku blush harder.

"You hungry?" 

"Yes. What did you make?" Sora sat at the kitchen table.

Whatever he made sure smelled delicious and it was making Sora's mouth water. 

"I made four different kinds of french toast roll ups." Riku said bringing a big plate of them over.

"That's sounds good. What kinds?" Sora said, looking over at the plate.

"Banana-strawberry, Blueberry and cream cheese, Apple and peanut butter, and sausage and cheese."

"It looks delicious."

"Try one." Riku sat down at the table. 

Sora picked one up and tried it.

"Omg that is so good!" 

Riku was pleased to see Sora enjoying his food.

"Eat as much as you want" Riku smiled and had some too.

After breakfast Riku washed the dishes and put the left overs away. Riku and Sora sat on the sofa together and talked. Sora had so much he wanted to ask him. But he asked one question at a time. He was so fascinated to learn more about Riku and what he had been doing all this time. He hoped he hadn't missed too much but 12 years was long. There must be so many things he missed in Riku's life. 

"Riku you mind if I ask you some questions?"

And just like that Sora was back to calling him "Riku" but Riku wasn't at all bothered by it. He had to get used to calling him babe. It wasn't something he was used to. He never had a boyfriend before. 

"No go ahead. Ask me anything."

"Have you ever had a boyfriend before or have you ever dated anyone?" 

Riku held both of Sora's hands in his own. "No. You're the first person I've ever been with. And you're going to be the last. I waited for you. You can even ask Roxas and Axel."

Sora's eyes widened. "Really? Well.... you're also my first."

Sora thought for a minute about his next question. "Riku... what was it like when you came out as gay. What did your parents think?" 

Riku gasped. He hadn't expected that to be the question Sora would ask him but he understood why he had asked. Sora had been confused about his sexuality and he didn't tell anyone that he liked boys. But he somehow still got teased about it in his old school before he even knew he liked boys. And he probably was worried about coming out. 

"I knew I was gay for a very long time and when I came out my parents didn't care. They just wanted the person I fell in love with to treat me right. They didn't care if it was a girl or a guy. And I got teased growing up but everything is okay now. More people are learning to accept it and a lot more people are open about it here now." Riku told him.

Sora was glad to know that Riku's parents didn't care or treat him any differently and he wondered how his own parents would react. How would they feel if he one day brought Riku home with him and introduced them to him as his "boyfriend"

It scared Sora to think about the possibility that his parents wouldn't like Riku, or wouldn't like him just because he was a guy. He didn't care what they thought of him but he didn't want them to try to keep them apart. He loved Riku. He didn't want anything to get in the way of them being together.

Riku sensed Sora was feeling uneasy and he kissed his palm and lightly rubbed his fingers across the top of his hand to soothe and comfort him. It was definitely working.

"When you're ready to tell your parents about us then you should, but I don't want you to think that you have to right now." Riku said.

"I know.... but Riku I don't want to hide you or that I love you. I want you to meet my parents one day but..." Sora felt Riku's arms close around him. Riku hugged him tightly rubbing his hand up and down his back.

"When you're ready. But until then it's okay. okay?" 

Sora nodded as Riku leaned in to kiss him. It was quick but full of passion and love. Riku's kisses were amazing. They always left Sora looking moronic and googly eyed. They were perfect for each other. Once they had stopped kissing they heard a knock on the door. Riku already knew who it was. He got up to go answer it and he was proven right. It was Axel and Roxas. They both looked at Sora shocked at seeing him here. Roxas' mind was deep in the gutter as it always was, but he didn't say what he thought no matter how badly he wanted to. Instead he sat over on the sofa.

"Hey Sora."

"Hey Roxas."

*Well I guess we're not alone anymore* Sora thought. He held back from sighing and watched as Riku and Axel sat down.

"So what's up?" Riku asked. He was a little annoyed.

"You'll never guessed what happened." Axel said with a smirk.

"What?" Sora and Riku asked in unison. 

*~ TO BE CONTINUED ~*


	15. XV. Trouble in Paradise

Axel paused looking over at Roxas.  
"You wanna tell him or should I?" He grinned.

"It doesn't matter which one of you talks, just tell me." Riku said with an arched eyebrow.

"Axel I'll tell him." Roxas said.

"So Axel and I went to the deli shop to grab some sandwiches, then we stopped at my mom's house to see Xion and... Riku we saw your dad's car was parked outside."

"What?" Riku looked confused.

"But we didn't run into your dad. Just saw his car there." Roxas told him.

"No. Had to be the wrong car." Riku thought he had to bugging. There was no way in hell it could've been his dad's car. Could it?

"It really was his car! The same black altima he had with the tinted windows and the mickey and minnie bumper sticker, with the huge dent on the passenger's side from when I accidentally smashed my bike into it that one time. It even had the same license plate number. Axel was a witness!"

"What!? My dad was here?" Riku scrunched up his face in disbelief and his legs were shaking as he tapped his foot on the ground nervously. Sweat was forming in the crease on his forehead, he looked completely on edge. Sora didn't know why but he could tell Riku wasn't right. He could see he was having trouble catching his breath. He reached over to place his hand on Riku's leg. Riku stiffened when Sora touched him but realized the intention he had behind it. He calmed down and begun to breath again. He couldn't believe his friends found his father's car. He couldn't believe his father was actually in town. He hadn't seen his father in a while, going on three years now. Why did come back now? And if he really was back why didn't he try to get in touch with Riku. 

"Riku, are you okay?" Sora asked as he rubbed up and down Riku's leg slowly trying to bring him out of his own mind.

"Y-yeah." Riku managed to say. When he had finally come back to reality he turned to Sora, he tried to hide the hurt in his eyes but Sora knew. Sora always sensed the hurt in Riku even when he tried to act normal.

"You can tell me what's wrong..." Sora said.

"My dad, I haven't seen him in over 3 years." Riku told him.

Sora was confused. Why didn't Riku see his father? What happened? He let Riku try to explain the best he could.

"Since my mom died my dad he... hasn't been around. I had to deal with it myself. I know when she died that it was hard for him too but... he just left me all alone. And it never really stopped hurting. I felt like I had lost both my parents." 

Riku remembered the pain. How agonizingly painful those three years had been for him. He had to deal with everything alone. He had no one to talk to that would really understand. The only person who could had left him. 

The first year had to have been the roughest. He went to school with dark circles and bags under his eyes, he hadn't slept much or showered or even gotten out of bed. Some days he didn't show up at school. And when he did his head hurt and he couldn't focus. He fell asleep but he didn't get enough of it. His teachers knew about Riku's mom and dad, they tried to help him and cut him some slack but they could only do so much. He had missed so much school that he was forced to go to summer school or he'd end up repeating the grade again. It was a miracle that he was able to pass and move on to the next grade with his other classmates and not get left behind. He lost his motivation then. 

After that Riku made sure he was on top of his studies, he had to make his mom proud somehow and he got bumped up to AP. He was every teacher's favorite student. He had always been a smart boy, growing up he was smarter than most his age but he didn't care that much academically. Now he had a reason, motivation, something that drove him to want to do his best. 

He had tried texting his dad, tried calling, but his dad never returned most of the calls or texts. Every once in a while he would hear from his dad but never would get to see him. His dad sent him money and his mom had started a trust fund for Riku before she passed away. He used some of the money to pay for his house and for school and he still had money left over for college. He wasn't rich like Sora but his parents made a decent living anyway. He still had more than enough to take care of himself so he didn't have to worry about money. 

His bestfriends already knew all of that and now he had to tell Sora. Sora wanted to know what Riku's life had been like. It wasn't the greatest, he had his struggles and he had trust issues too. But he trusted his friends and he trusted Sora. He always trusted Sora. 

After opening up and telling Sora about everything, Sora couldn't help how disheartening his face looked. His heart broke for Riku. Having to lose a parent and then the other one disappearing so it was basically like they were both gone. He couldn't even fathom it. He was drowning in Riku's sadness. 

But Riku was used to this. It didn't mean that it hurt him any less, but he'd learned how to deal with it and got better at hiding the pain. But he still couldn't help but wonder what his dad was up to and why he didn't call or text him if he really was here. 

Then he wondered "Do you think his car is still outside?" 

"Maybe." Axel told him.

"Mind if we go see?" Riku asked. The curiousity killed him. 

"Yeah, let's go check it out." Roxas said, tugging on Axel's arm playfully.

"Come on then." Axel picked up Roxas bridal style and carried him to the door. 

Sora and Riku followed them. Sora couldn't help how his cheeks flared up at seeing the happy couple. He imagined Riku picking him up and carrying him like that and the thought made his legs feel like rubber. He stumbled on his feet and almost fell forward when Riku caught him. 

"Careful" He said, helping Sora back on his feet.

Sora felt so embarassed. *Why am I so clumsy and stupid?* He thought.

It was as if he read Sora's mind, when Riku said, "You're so clumsy Sora but I have to admit you're really cute."

Sora's face grew redder. Sora hated how he was 'clumsy' and wished he wasn't, but Riku saying how he was cute made him feel like maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all. After recovering from the shock of almost falling on his face, Sora looked up at Riku. "I wasn't paying attention. My legs feel like butter at the moment. I'm sorry about that Riku." 

Riku looked at Sora, his eyes had a shine to them. "Maybe I should just carry you then." 

Before Sora could even answer Riku was already picking him up. He held him bridal style and walked him all the way to Axel's car. Sora's heart fluttered. It was beating so fast he thought it would pop out of his chest. He looked up at Riku, the first thing he noticed was his cheesey smile. And his silver hair, which sweeped back and forth as he walked. His arms felt big and firm against him, his skin was cool and made Sora shiver but he was enjoying every second of being held.

Riku set Sora down on his feet gently once he was in front of Axel's car. Then he opened the door and let Sora sit down first. Sora climbed in the back seat and sat in the middle and Riku sat next to him. Axel was already sitting in the driver's seat and Roxas in the passengers seat. They glared at Sora and Riku, who noticed the two glaring at them. 

"What?" Riku groaned.

"Are you two...?" Axel didn't have to finish his sentence. Riku knew what he was asking.

His eyes held the gaze of Axel's emerald green ones. He gulped somewhat nervous and said, "Yup." 

Axel gave him a smile, a smile that said 'I knew you could do it buddy' he knew Riku was hung up on Sora even if he didn't like to admit it. And secretly Axel had been rooting for his friend to ask Sora out since day one. Now he finally had and Axel felt like a proud father seeing their son walk or say their first word for the first time. Roxas was also rooting for them, even though he teased them most of the time. He shipped them and even came up with a name for their ship. Everyday after school he knew they would stay at the library and work on their project together. He would tease them, he teased them everywhere they went. He would say something like *Look it's 'Soriku'* Riku always found it silly and extremely annoying but when he gave it some thought, he found it cute. But he would never ever admit that to Roxas ever.

Once everyone had put on their seatbelts Axel drove them to Roxas' mom's. He rolled the windows down letting the cool air blow through his long red hair, he didn't care if it got messed up even though it was a pain to fix. He didn't feel like fixing it back so he would probably just tie it up into a ponytail like Riku used to do when his hair was that long. Roxas turned on the radio and listened to some tunes, while Sora and Riku sat next to each other, holding hands. Sora couldn't resist leaning against Riku, his head fitting perfectly in Riku's neck. 

After a couple minutes and a few songs later, they'd arrived at Roxas' mom's house. But there were was no sign of Riku's dad. They looked around the neighborhood but they didn't see his car.

"Maybe we just missed him?" Axel said, he knew Riku had to be disappointed. He wished there was something he could do.

"It's alright." Riku said before stepping out of the car. He needed a moment to cool off. Sora, Roxas, and Axel were worried about him. They didn't know what to do or why his dad was putting Riku through this. Didn't he know how much this had hurt him? Did he even care?

Riku started running. Running as fast as he could away. He ran down the street. His eyes darkened as a frenzy of tears came flowing down. He wanted to scream. He was so angry and frustrated, overcome with emotions that he didn't know how to handle. He stopped running once he ran out of breath. He was breathing hard, cold air caught in his throat and it hurt like hell. He covered his face with shaking hands and sobbed. The pain worse than anything. Did his dad even love him anymore? He thought. He wanted so badly not to care about any of it anymore. Riku laid face down on the grass. He felt like shit and he just wanted to be left alone. But someone had other plans. Riku jumped up when he suddenly heard footsteps. He wiped his eyes which were filled to the brim with tears and sniffled. He looked behind him to see who was there.

"Riku is that you?" 

Riku looked up to see a tall man standing in front of him. 

"Dad?" He mumbled to himself.

Riku couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Dad?" He said louder, making sure that this wasn't a dream.

But the tall man didn't answer

"Dad answer me! Dad!" Riku yelled, his eyes wet with tears.

"Riku! Riku! Can you hear me! Snap out of it!"

Riku looked up and he didn't see his dad anymore. He saw Sora. Roxas and Axel were standing behind him. Riku realized that he must have been hallucinating.

"Riku..." Sora sobbed.

Riku sat up and hugged Sora with all of his strength. Sora yelped, completely caught off guard by Riku squeezing him to a pulp. Riku eased off just a little but still held onto him and Sora held him back running his fingers through Riku's silver hair.

"It's okay Riku. It's... It's okay."

Riku trusted Sora's words. He trusted anything Sora said without hesitation.

Once he was finally calm, they got back into Axel's car. Axel began driving but he had no real destination.

"Riku what happened?" Sora asked, grasping Riku's hand.

"I thought I saw my dad. But it was just in my head."

"I'm sorry, I really wish that there was something I could do to help. I feel so useless."

"You did help... you brought me back. If it wasn't for you Sora, who knows what could've happened. I would've gone crazy."

Axel figured out where he wanted to go. He figured that they should stop and get lunch and maybe some air. He could use a breather and that usually helped Riku when he had his panic attacks and his anxiety. They went to the bistro that was near the mall. The food here was the best and was sure to cheer Riku up. When they got inside a male greeted them.

"Hi, how many?"

"Four please."

"Right this way."

He led them over to one of the booths nearby. They each sat down, then he handed each of them and menu and walked away. They looked at it and talked a little before their server came to greet them and get their orders. A tall brunette male with blue eyes came over. He was tall and looked like he could be a little older. He had a pen and notepad in his hand.

"Hi, my name is Terra and I'll be your server. Can I get you started with something to drink?" 

Riku looked up when he heard Terra's voice.

"Terra!" Riku gasped, surprised to see him.

"Riku? Hey buddy! How you been?" Terra said enthusiastically.

"Fine. When did you start working here?" Riku asked.

"Just started a while ago." Terra replied.

Terra and Riku had been really close, in fact Riku looked up to Terra. He saw him as an older brother.

"Terra, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Riku directed Terra's attention to Sora and Sora's face lit up as he gave him a friendly smile in response. 

"This is my boyfriend Sora." Said Riku.

A light blush ran along both boys faces once those words came out. It felt good to be able to openly address Sora as his boyfriend. And it felt equally as good to Sora when Riku did it. 

"Hi Sora. I'm Terra. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Terra asked.

"Water is fine." Riku said.

"I'll have the strawberry lemonade." Roxas said.

"Sweetened tea for me." Said Axel.

"Can I try the blueberry lemonade?" Sora asked.

"Of course, I'll be just a moment." Terra left to get them their drinks. 

It didn't take him too long. Once he got their drinks he brought it to their booth and set one in front of each of them.   
Roxas took a sip of his strawberry lemonade. 

"Do you guys know what you want to order or should I give you a moment to decide?" Terra asked politely.

"I think we're ready." Said Axel.

Terra wrote down each of their orders and left the booth. Riku had calmed down and was just happy to be out with Sora and his friends. 

"This place is great!" Roxas said bouncing up and down. The lemonade was giving him a sugar rush. Axel and Riku nodded.

"I've never been here." Sora said. Which was true. He hadn't gotten out much, not since he had just moved here. His parents were always out of town, they had just gone on a trip and Sora was lonely. He didn't want to go anywhere though. But he had to admit this was nice. 

"You'll like it here." Riku turned to Sora and gave him a peck on his cheek. Sora blushed deeply and went to give Riku a peck back but he moved slightly on purpose. Sora missed Riku's cheek and pressed his lips against Riku's instead. It was only just a small peck but Sora tensed up almost immediately and pulled away. His face grew red all over and his heart felt as if it was beating 100 times per second. He hardly initiated any of the kisses that the two of them shared, so it came as quite the shock to him. Riku almost laughed at how Sora reacted but he didn't. Roxas sure did though. Once his laughter finally subdued the three of them made light conversation.

Terra came back with their food and they ate. They enjoyed their food, their drinks, the scenery, the music, and each other's company. When they had eaten and were full, Axel got up to go pay. Then they left the bistro and started heading back to Axel's car. Riku was about to open the car door but then he thought he heard someone calling his name. He wanted to look and see but something told him not to look.

*"Riku!"*

Riku heard it again and he gasped.   
He recognized that voice but was he really hearing it this time? Riku turned his head to look slowly. His eyes darted around until finally locking eyes with another male. He was tall, slender, his hair similar in color to Riku's, his eyes bright and blue like the morning sky but somehow they seemed sad, he was an older looking guy with a beard. Sora, Roxas, and Axel turned around to look at the man calling Riku's name. He came closer and closer. Riku lost it. He fell to his knees and began sobbing.

"Dad..." Riku brought his hands up to his face and he sobbed into them.

"Son... I'm sorry I haven't answered any of your calls lately. I just couldn't bring myself to."

"...." Riku didn't have words. He didn't have anything. He had thought about what he would say to his dad if he ever saw him again. But actually being in front of him, he didn't have words.

"....I'm really sorry I left. I never should have left you by yourself. And I should have called but... you know that the anniversary of your mother's death is coming up... I just had so much on my mind."

When Riku heard his father talking about his mother he snapped.   
"You think that I didn't?! After all these years how am I even supposed to believe you even care about me? When mom died you left me. You didn't ask about me. You hardly called me or answered any of my texts. But I called you and texted you everyday since mom left, everyday for three months. I asked you how you were, I told you I missed you, I missed mom and you didn't care about any of that. You only texted me when you felt like it. How do you think that made me feel dad? I never got any sleep. I almost got held back a year in school. My life had became a living hell, I needed you. You were the only one who could ever understand what I went through but you didn't even stick around. And I'm just supposed to forgive you after you just say I'm sorry." 

Riku's dad was silent. He knew he hurt Riku and that Riku wasn't ready to forgive him for it. He didn't want to put his son through any of this but he allowed it to get this far and he blamed himself. 

"I don't know why I even wanted to see you again, right now I don't even want to look at your face!" Riku opened the door to the car, got in and slammed it shut.

Axel and everyone got in the car and didn't say a word. Riku's dad walked to his car and left. He regretted everything he ever put him through. 

Riku didn't mean the last thing he said to him but he wondered if he even cared. Riku looked at Axel, his arms were crossed. He didn't want to do anything but just mope around and be mad.

"Take me home." 

Axel didn't argue. He took Riku home. Sora couldn't leave him by himself so he went with Riku but Riku didn't talk to him. But if Sora decided to say something to him, Riku wouldn't ignore him. He hoped he hadn't hurt Sora's feelings.


	16. XVI. Passion

Riku laid on the sofa. He sighed as he crossed both arms behind his head and closed his eyes. He tried to forget what happened. Tried to focus on something else. Sora had walked over to Riku and stood in front of him with a look of desperation. He didn't know what he could do to help but that's all he wanted to do. Riku opened his eyes and took a glance at Sora, he seemed sad. He tapped his hand against his lap and said "Sora, you can lay down with me if you want to."

Sora did exactly just that. He sat down in Riku's lap and laid down, shifting a little until he was lying comfortably against him. Riku put his arm around Sora's shoulder and placed a small kiss on his cheek. 

"I love you." He whisphered.

"I love you too."

Are you... are you mad at me?" Riku asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"No, of course not. I told you it's okay."

"It is okay. Only because you're here." Riku told him. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. Thanks for being here with me Sora." Riku said, placing a small kiss on his nose, which earned him a blush and squeal from the small boy beside him.

Riku wrapped both arms around Sora lovingly. He was suddenly calm and more relaxed now, as he looked over at Sora who was completely wrapped up in him. He couldn't even remember why he'd even been mad. It wasn't important anymore. Sora had that effect on him. It was like no matter how mad or upset Riku got or was at something, Sora could just make that feeling disappear in a heartbeat. He didn't even have to try and Sora still got to him. This was something he felt like he could end up getting used to.

Sora shivered, as he felt Riku's hand slowly creep up the side of his neck. Riku smiled when he felt the muscles in Sora's throat had expanded against his hand, then he resumed his hand's movements. He had stopped somewhere just below his chin and his jawline. He'd begun to trace Sora's jawline with his thumb and his index finger. Sora stiffened while Riku's hand lingered over his jaw.

Inch by tantalizing inch, Riku brought his face closer to Sora's. Sora's whole body tensed and shivered, twitching with anticipation. 

Riku gently bit down on Sora's bottom lip. Sora groaned, as he unknowingly wrapped his arms around Riku's neck. He felt him pulling away and all Sora could do was whine at the loss. He stared at Riku's lips and hesitated thereafter. He thought about how soft, warm, and pale his lips were. How they were a shade of warm rosey pink and how they were so gentle yet so rough. He thought about how much he wanted them to be pressed against his. He wanted it so badly but he didn't know where to even begin.

If Sora was going to kiss Riku he would just have to ease himself into it. So he took his time, leaning into Riku. His movement slow and steady and so precise. You couldn't miss it even if you'd blinked. 

Once Sora was close enough he felt a warm tingling sensation growing deep within his stomach. It compelled him to stop, but he resisted those urges as best he could. He felt the warmth of Riku's breath hot against the surface of his skin. It taunted him.

He closed his eyes, puckering his lips, and leaned forward until his lips eventually pressed against Riku's. The kiss started out slow, Riku kissed back but let Sora have full control. Once he had gotten used to kissing like this, he pressed into Riku's lips harder deepening the kiss. Riku moaned. Sora was finally kissing him and he liked it better this way. He could feel the passion, every ounce of love Sora had to offer. 

Sora poked his tongue between Riku's lips. Riku parted them, inviting Sora inside. Once Sora entered Riku's mouth, his tongue lingered inside grabbing a hold of Riku's tongue. Their tongues wrapped around each other and danced a rhythm only the two of them knew. Riku was shocked that Sora was being so aggressive this time around but he wasn't at all complaining. It sent shivers up and down his spine. 

Once breathing became strenuous and the need for air became apparent, they had pulled away leaving a string of saliva connecting their lips. 

Riku panted, he soon realized his pants had gotten tighter on him and that he was now hard. Warmth spread to every part of his body, especially down south. He was burning, hot with desire. Riku didn't have much self control. It would take a whole lot of willpower for him not to jump Sora's bones right now.

He closed his eyes and bit at his own lip trying to regain some of his self control. He opened them again, looking down at Sora. That was a big mistake. Sora licked his lips slowly from top to bottom, his tongue spinning around in a circle. That got Riku's attention and he started to get lost in his fantasies. He wanted Sora bad... really really bad. Did Sora have any idea what he was doing to him?

"Sora..."

Riku could barely talk, barely think. All his blood rushing to one specific part of his body. Riku got up and without any kind of warning he picked Sora up off of the sofa and carried him to his room. He gently threw him onto the bed and got on top of him pinning him by his wrists.

"Ri- Riku..."

Riku shoved his tongue in Sora's mouth shutting him up. Sora closed his eyes and tried to fight for dominance inside Riku's mouth, but Riku didn't even think to let him win. He was too horny to care. Sora couldn't help the involuntary movement of his hips and it only made Riku even more horny. Sora opened his eyes when Riku disconnected the kiss. He let go of Sora's wrists and moved his hand under Sora's shirt. He pulled it up exposing his bare chest and abdomen. Sora shivered when he felt a cool breeze brush against his skin. Riku softly rubbed Sora's chest up and down before moving his hands lower. Sora closed his eyes focusing on Riku touching him. It felt really good. Sora had dreamed of Riku touching him like this and doing more. He wanted that. He had tensed up just a little bit when he felt his hands moving much lower, below his waist.

"Sora... if you want me to stop. Tell me."

Sora didn't trust his voice so he only nodded.

"You want me to stop?" 

Sora shook his head no.

"You're sure?" Riku asked just to make sure. He didn't want Sora to regret any of this later.

Sora sighed, clearing his throat.   
"Riku. I want you. I want this. Yes, I'm sure."

Riku leaned down to kiss Sora on the lips and Sora wrapped his arms around Riku kissing him back.

"Riku... this is my first time."

"It's mine too. Are you sure you wanna do this? We don't have to. We can always wait." 

"I want to. But only if you want to." 

Riku hated that he kept asking, but he felt like he always had to make sure that Sora wanted him. 

Riku took off his shirt and threw it somewhere on the floor. Sora sat up and took of his shirt too throwing it on top of Riku's, then he laid back down. Riku took off his own pants first and helped Sora with his. He grabbed at his own buckle clasp undoing it and took off his belt. Sora watched as Riku pulled off his pants and threw them. He couldn't help it when his eyes had shifted to something big that was sticking up inside of Riku's boxers. He felt heat rising to his face and went red, he could also feel the way his stomach was fluttering. Riku then helped Sora take off his belt and his pants. Sora was kind of embarassed to be seen like this but he trusted Riku with all of his heart so he didn't care. Now all they had on were their boxers. 

"If you don't like something or you want me to stop Sora, just tell me. Please. Can you do that?" Riku asked him.

"Yes. I promise."

Riku slowly placed his hand on Sora's thigh. As he rubbed up and down he watched for Sora's reaction. Sora was breathing a little harder but he was okay. Enjoying the feeling of Riku touching him. It felt good, it was better than anything he could ever dream. Riku continued rubbing his thigh, slowly raising his hand higher until it was next to Sora's crotch. 

He placed his hand over Sora's dick and gently rubbed it between the fabric of his underwear. Riku still studied Sora for his reaction. Sora gripped onto the sheets from Riku's bed and squeezed it as he moaned in pleasure. Riku was a little turned on. He moved his hand onto the waistband of Sora's boxers and pulled them down slowly. He took Sora's hard member into his hands and stroked him. 

Sora shuddered at the feeling, his hips moving up and down on their own accord as Riku stroked him. Beads of precum leaked out from the head. Sora moaned Riku's name, he couldn't take much more of this. Riku was so turned on and ready now. 

He pulled Sora's boxers off completely and threw them down. He also took his own off and threw them down too. He didn't waste any time.

Riku glanced down at Sora, he'd never seen anything more beautiful or sexy before. He straddled him and spread his legs apart.

"Sora this might hurt you a lot. I don't have any lube." 

"I don't care! You've kept me waiting for long enough." Sora complained.

Riku blushed, he'd never seen Sora like this. He was shy but a little aggressive and impatient. Riku knew he couldn't wait to have sex with him and that made him feel kind of powerful and in control. He liked being dominant over Sora. 

"Open your mouth."

Sora wanted to ask what for but he didn't want to end up waiting longer so he just opened his mouth like Riku told him to.

Riku shoved three fingers in Sora's mouth. Sora sucked on all three. Once they were slick enough, Riku pulled them out. He inserted one inside of Sora. Sora yelped in suprise, he didn't expect it to feel like that.

When he felt like he was used to having one finger inside him then Riku inserted a second finger. He moved them in and out making scissoring motions to stretch Sora out. Sora cried out in pain. 

"It... it... it hurts Riku..." 

"I know, it's going to hurt Sora but it'll feel better soon."

Riku leaned down to kiss Sora. Sora calmly accepted the kiss and when he had gotten used to two fingers, Riku had inserted the third and final finger. He continued to make scissoring motions. Sora's eyes began watering as he screamed out in pain.

"Riku!!!... It hurts.. it hurts!!" 

"Do you want me to stop?" 

"No! Just do it...Just do it Riku! I don't care about the pain anymore... please..." 

Riku took out all three fingers and positioned himself at Sora's entrance. 

"Take a deep breath Sora and try to relax."

He took a deep breath and tried to relax. Riku entered him slowly, he stopped when just the tip was inside him. Riku let out a soft moan. He let Sora get a little bit used to him first. Then he slowly pushed himself inside until he was about halfway in. He took a deep breath before pushing the last few inches in. Once he was fully inside him he stopped moving. He groaned loudly. He didn't expect to feel this good inside Sora. Sora was tight, he was squeezing him so hard. This was better than anything he'd ever experienced or dreamt of. He himself needed a moment to get used to this feeling. He knew if he didn't take it slow he would probably come a lot quicker than expected. He wanted Sora to come first. Sora tried waiting but he couldn't wait around anymore. He wanted Riku now. Right now.

"Move Riku!"

Riku moved just as Sora demanded. He pulled himself slowly out of Sora but not completely. Then he slowly thrusted himself back in all the way. He thrusted in and out slowly until he found a rhythm that worked for both of them. Sora's moans seemed to echo over and over again in Riku's ears. Riku held Sora's legs apart and used them so he could balance himself. He took one hand off of Sora's leg and moved it over Sora's chest. He pinched one of Sora's nipples and gently twisted it in between his fingers while he pumped himself in and out of Sora slightly faster.

"Riku... Fuck!!! Oh god....Faster" 

Sora's moans motivated Riku to go even faster and harder. He knew he might come if he was any rougher but he wanted to give Sora what he wanted. Riku grabbed Sora's legs and wrapped them around him and he sped up, thrusting even harder in and out of Sora keeping a rhythm. He hoped that Sora was close soon. Riku was getting closer. His grunts making it almost too obvious to tell. Sora wiggled his hips up and down as Riku fucked him. He dug his fingernails into Riku's back as he screamed his name out loud and proud.

"Fuck... Riku!!!!!"

Riku loved being in control. He loved that he was able to make Sora feel like this. It was sexy how much Sora begged him, how much Sora wanted him.

"Faster Riku!!!! Faster!!!" He said.

Riku went faster, his breathing became more intense now and he was sweating. His hair a mess. He could feel his whole entire body trembling. He knew he was close. He wanted to come and let his orgasm take over him and it was about to. He looked down into Sora's eyes.

"Sora I'm-"

Sora's eyes widened as he looked into Riku's.  
"Riku.... I'm.. I'm..." 

Riku felt Sora tightening all around him and he almost lost it. He bit down hard against his bottom lip, as he thrusted one last time. Then he was coming inside of him, his hot semen flowing out of him and into Sora. Sora had come first, his sticky white liquid shot up against his and Riku's stomachs. Riku laid on top of Sora, weak, both of them panting uncontrollably and extremely hard now. Once they mustered up enough breath to speak they looked at one another.

"Riku, I love you."

"I love you too Sora. So much."

They kissed each other lovingly. Neither of them wanted to get up but they knew that they should probably clean up the mess.


End file.
